UN chief calls for overall ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Sunday night called on all parties in the conflict in eastern Ukraine to abide by "without exception" the ceasefire as agreed earlier this week under the Minsk accords.

In a statement released by Ban's spokesperson, the secretary-general noted that "the ceasefire appears to be largely holding, giving a desperately needed respite to civilians trapped in the area and contributing to a swift and peaceful resolution of the conflict."

On Thursday, leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany announced a peace deal following 14-hour marathon talks in Minsk. The deal envisages a ceasefire between Ukrainian forces and independence-seeking insurgents starting Sunday, followed by the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line and constitutional reform to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.

"However, the Secretary-General is seriously concerned over reports of continued instances of hostilities including in Debaltseve and reiterates his call for all parties to abide by the cease-fire without exception," said the statement.

Hostilities between government troops and pro-independence rebels in eastern Ukraine flared up with a new vigor after the deal was announced. The surge in fighting came as the warring sides accused each other of pushing an offensive to make territorial gains before the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect on Sunday.

Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Petro Mekhed said that the rebel forces were aiming to capture the government-controlled Mariupol and Debaltseve towns before the ceasefire deal came into force.

Ban also noted in the statement that the ceasefire forms the basis for the broader implementation of the Minsk accords and he calls on all parties to implement it to restore peace and stability to Ukraine. Endi