From what I have seen in media and even much of what both yourself and Viligant have posted it seems to me the ceasefire was only one provision of the agreement, not the sum total of it. They all agreed to at least the ceasefire provision, but not some other provisions. The Separatists agreed at first to abide but then argued not to abide by ceasefire because Nationalists were in control of parts of Debaltseve which they interpret as their territory of the agreement. Therefore now that Nationalists are leaving from Debaltseve and to the lines they agreed to this should satisfy the demands of the Separatists interpretation of the agreement and at the least warrant a possible short ceasefire to get even the families of those fighting on all sides or not fighting at all to safety.
The hope for a short ceasefire cannot be showboating if it has not even happened. Will they actually seek to achieve a short ceasefire to get their own families out of the way or will they just simply keep fighting? That is to be seen shortly.
The separatists never agreed to a ceasefire regarding Debaltseve. Their position was that there was a cauldron and that it was therefore an internal issue. They called for those in the cauldron to lay down their arms and surrender in order to live.
Kiev on the other hand denied the cauldron existed. The hope of Kiev at Minsk was that during the talks the cauldron would be broken during the ongoing fighting. There were ongoing reports of the UAF launching offensive actions in order in an attempt to break through.
It appears Kiev were not successful though, yet upon the declaration of the ceasefire there was still denial at top levels that the UAF was actually surrounded in the area. Thus both sides were telling a different story, the L/DPR that they have the UAF encircled, Kiev that they were not encircled.
It was quite bizarre but not unprecedented. The same thing happened at the Donetsk Airport which was taken around the 16th of January by the NAF yet denied by Kiev until around the 22nd or so when they had their "tactical withdrawal." This all in the face of NAF video released well before the 22nd which showed that the airport was indeed captured.
There is a lot of phychological warfare and propaganda being conducted by both sides in the conflict.
Debaltseve is a railroad hub between the cities of Lugansk and Donetsk. The UAF had held it for the logistical purpose of cutting this railway network as well as it being a strategic wedge for future operations to divide both rebellious republics from each other.
Kiev obviously did not want to admit it was surrounded because to do so would be to admit that it was not part of their front lines, thus they would have to abandon it under the ceasefire. Front lines don't include pockets in enemy territory that are surrounded and cut off from supply. Kiev were clearly being overly optimistic in the hope the encirclement would be broken.
The L/DPR needed the encirclement to continue otherwise they would lose that area under the cease fire as it would be a part of the front lines as it has been for quite some time. They also did not want the surrounded UAF forces to leave with their weapons (just like in Illovaisk). They did offer what is called a "green corridor" but Kiev refused.
That is the context of the ongoing fighting in the area and that is the context of Kiev's announcement of a "tactical withdrawal." A "tactical withdrawal" from a "non-encirclement" allows Kiev to blame the L/DPR for a violation of the ceasefire.
It is all word games. There is no real ceasefire, just a scaling back of conflict where possible, as both sides try to make gains politically.
There was no real ceasefire last time either (Minsk 1).
There simply cannot be any real ceasefire when both sides want totally different things, things that conflict with each other.
Ukraine wants total control of the Donbass region, prosecution of the rebel leaders and then MAYBE there will be some autonomy given in some way.
What an offer right? That offer totally ignores the radical anti-Russian neo-nazism idealogy which is still running wild in Ukraine. After 8 months of blood being spilled and cities being bombed does anyone really think the L/DPR are going to submit themselves to such a thing? It is pure fantasy.
The L/DPR wants autonomy over their region, their own leaders, and they want NOTHING to do with a U.S. vassal government that supports radical neo-nazis.
Then there is Russia which is looking out for its own interests and views the west as attempting to contain it via proxy events in Ukraine.
None of the sides are really good guys. There is Russia with all its suppression and corruption, the people of Donbass caught in the middle of a horrible situation, also divided with subterfuge and machinations, the Ukraine government and its support of radical nationalism, sending unprepared conscripts to fight, the people of Ukraine who just want a better life, the Right Sector and its armed paramilitary units like the Privy Sektor and the Azov Battalion, and the U.S. who is turning a blind eye to the whole mess in uncritically supporting Kiev as it is all part of an agenda to contain Russia.
Here I am in the west seeing so much spin where people basically ignore what is really going on and end up supporting elites who can only make things worse, can only lead to more civilian casualties. It is a mess, the whole thing is tragic mess, a mess of lies.
