Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said on Wednesday that government forces had withdrawn from the flashpoint town of Debaltseve, where pro-Russian rebels have been battling troops for control for weeks.
"This morning the Ukrainian armed forces together with the National Guard completed an operation for a planned and organised withdrawal from Debaltseve. As of now we can say that 80 percent of our units have left," Poroshenko said in an audio message released by his press service, adding that two more columns were expected to pull out.