DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) – Separatist forces in eastern Ukraine said Wednesday they have almost fully encircled government forces in a town that hosts a strategic railway hub, putting them within grasp of a decisive new victory.
Eduard Basurin, the deputy commander of the separatist forces, said the highway linking the town, Debaltseve, to other government-held areas has now fallen into rebel hands. The encirclement of the town has not, however, been fully executed, Basurin said.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko confirmed Debaltseve is surrounded on two flanks and is being heavily targeted with Grad multiple rocket launchers. Other officials denied government forces were close to folding and said separatist claims were exaggerated.
Debaltseve is one of multiple flashpoints that have flared up across eastern Ukraine since the start of the month, when full-blown fighting between Russian-backed rebels and government forces erupted anew following a month of relative tranquility. Since the conflict started in April, it has claimed more than 5,100 lives and displaced over 900,000 people across the country, according to Ukraine government estimates.
Advances by separatist forces threaten to definitively torpedo the chances of reviving an internationally brokered peace deal reached in September that established a line of contact between the warring sides. That agreement was signed in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, by rebel leaders and representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.