Ukraine Engulfed by Violence in East Before Truce Set to Begin
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A battle for control of the government-held flashpoint of Debaltseve unleashed fierce fighting with pro-Russian insurgents in eastern Ukraine just hours before a cease-fire was supposed to go into effect at midnight.
Combatants on both sides vowed to abide by the accord signed Thursday in the Belarus capital even as violence raged, with the authorities in Kiev saying rebels were bearing down on the strategic transport hub of Debaltseve. The insurgents blamed the Ukrainian army for striking their positions and towns across the breakaway Donetsk region.