Ukraine chides Putin as rebels revel in seized town

DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko spoke Thursday to Russian leader Vladimir Putin and purportedly chided him for allowing separatists in eastern Ukraine to seize the key transport town of Debaltseve during a fragile cease-fire.

Debaltseve appeared to be largely under the control of rebels Thursday, a day after Ukrainian forces began withdrawing from the besieged town. Associated Press journalists who drove around about half the town found that all neighborhoods were under the control of rebel fighters, most of them appearing to be Russian Cossacks.

Nikolai Kozitsyn, a Russian Cossack leader who has been a prominent warlord in separatist eastern Ukraine, was seen driving around in a Humvee-like vehicle that had been captured from Ukrainian troops.

Cossack fighters laughed, hugged each other and posed for photos. But one car carrying Cossacks hit a land mine about 200 meters from the journalists, killing one Cossack and injuring one other.

A Ukrainian military spokesman said Thursday that more than 90 percent of its forces have been withdrawn from Debaltseve and its surroundings, but left unclear when the retreat might be completed.

Poroshenko's spoke Thursday with Putin and the leaders of France and Germany, all of whom took part in the talks last week in Minsk which resulted in the still-fragile cease-fire that took effect on Sunday.

The battle for Debaltseve had continued to rage despite the cease-fire, and the pro-Russian rebels finally forced Ukrainian soldiers to retreat on Wednesday.

According to Poroshenko's website, he told Putin on Thursday "not to pretend that what happened in Debaltseve was in line with the Minsk agreements."

Military spokesman Anatoliy Stelmakh also said that rebels heavily shelled a village on the outskirts of the port city of Mariupol during the last day.

Ukrainian troops began abandoning Debaltseve on Wednesday after weeks of heavy fighting. Control of the town is a significant strategic gain for the rebels because it is a railway junction and straddles the most direct route between Donetsk and Luhansk, the separatist region's two major cities.