Ukraine President orders cease fire

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) – The cease-fire period for fighting in Ukraine began one minute after midnight Sunday, but there are no immediate indications of whether either side in the conflict that has killed more than 5,300 people is observing it.

Under an agreement struck last week, Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatist rebels are to begin this week pulling back their heavy weaponry to form a wide buffer zone.

In a live midnight broadcast, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko issued the order for the country’s armed forces to hold their fire.

In a statement before issuing that order, Poroshenko expressed concern over risks to the cease-fire posed by the unrest that raged Saturday around the strategic government-held railway hub of Debaltseve, which is besieged by separatist forces.

In an inauspicious omen for the prospects of any cessation of hostilities, rebels have said they will not consider any battles for the town to be a violation of the cease-fire.