WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US Vice President Joe Biden discussed in telephone conversations with Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko and Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk ways to monitor the ceasefire and heavy weapons withdrawal in eastern Ukraine, according to a White House statement.
Biden condemned the attacks on the Ukrainian town of Debaltseve, saying that Russia provided assistance to the independence supporters in eastern Ukraine, according to the statement.
Major clashes between the Ukrainian security forces and independence supporters took place in Debaltseve in the past several days, following the implementation of a ceasefire that was agreed on by the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France in Minsk on February 12.
The four countries agreed on a set of measures aimed at ending the military confrontation and paving the way to a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. The measures stipulated a ceasefire to come into force on February 15, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the line of contact and an all-for-all prisoner swap, among other points.
