To no avail ended the peace negotiations on Ukraine

Peace talks between the Ukrainian authorities and the pro-Russian separatists ended on Saturday to no avail, while fierce battles continue in the east of Ukraine, taking lives of military and civilians.

Negotiations were interrupted a few hours after they began. Ukrainian negotiators blamed the failure of separatist representatives, who, according to the Ukrainian side, refused to discuss a plan for an immediate cease-fire.

Since the signing of the September peace agreement, which consisted of 12 points, the parties were able to hold only one unsuccessful meeting.

However, the agreement was violated from the very first days after its signing and ceased to matter at all after last week the separatists announced the start of a new offensive in order to expand the territory they controlled.

Meanwhile, according to the head of the self-proclaimed DNR police chief, Vyacheslav Abroskin, 12 civilians were killed as a result of shelling of a strategic transport hub Debaltseve on Saturday. Debaltseve is located between the separatist-controlled centers - Donetsk and Lugansk.

The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on Saturday said that as a result of the fighting for Debaltseve, on Friday, 15 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 30 soldiers were injured in the city controlled by the Ukrainian army.

In an interview with Voice of America correspondent Al Pessin, who works in eastern Ukraine, Donetsk Region Governor, Ukrainian Army General Alexander Kikhtenko said on Saturday that after the start of the separatist offensive in early January, more than 280 thousand people became refugees in this region. According to him, the number of IDPs is constantly growing.

The governor said that the ongoing fighting had a major impact on the lives of local residents, who live in fear of constant shelling, the destruction of their homes and the loss of loved ones. People are looking forward to peace and a return to normal life, Kikhtenko told Voice of America.

Source - Voice of America