Deaths in Ukraine Shake Fragile Ceasefire

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Ukraine says three of its soldiers have been killed and seven others wounded as isolated pockets of violence continue in the east of the country - despite the agreement of a ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels.

Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed separatists were seen withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line as part of the truce, which was brokered in Belarus two weeks ago.

Rocket launchers were removed from the rebel stronghold of Donetsk whilst Ukrainian forces pulled several anti-tank guns from the front line near the town of Artemivsk.

Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) have been overseeing the drawback, which was supposed to have begun last week and represents only a fraction of the two sides' arsenal.

Top OSCE officials say the country is at a crossroads between war and peace.

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Gallery: Ukrainian Army Begins Heavy Weapons Withdrawal

Members of the Ukrainian armed forces and armoured personnel carriers are seen preparing to pull back from the Debaltseve region

The withdrawal follows a ceasefire deal agreed almost two weeks ago

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Rebel forces claim they have also begun a withdrawal, although that could not be independently verified

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It comes as the Ukrainian army claims fighting in the east of the country has died down in recent days

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Members of the Ukrainian armed forces are pictured welcoming their comrades who have pulled back from the conflict zone

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"We seem to be at the crossroads where we are facing the risk of a further escalation of the conflict or where common sense, responsibility and humanity shall prevail, and we may be able to walk on the road to peace," said Heidi Tagliavini from the OSCE.

"We are actively engaged in a de-escalation which hopefully may become an irreversible process."

Fighting began in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions in April, a month after Russia annexed Crimea.

So far it has claimed some 5,800 lives, and forced more than 1.2 million people to flee their homes.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko insisted that his army would strike back if hostilities resumed.

"Our troops are at all times prepared to return equipment to their former positions and quickly fend off the enemy," he said.

The latest fatalities - believed to be the first in three days - come amid mounting tensions over energy supplies, with Russia repeatedly threatening to cut off its gas flow to Ukraine.

Kiev has made a £10m prepayment for gas this week. But Russia's state-run supplier Gazprom claims it would only pay for another day at the current rate, stoking fears that Ukraine could be cut off by Tuesday.

The European Commission will seek to broker a deal between the Russian and Ukrainian energy ministers during talks in Brussels on Monday, amid concern that a shutdown could have knock-on effects across Europe.

Russia has cut off supplies to Ukraine three times in the past decade.

About a third of the European Union's natural gas comes from Russia, and 15% flows through Ukraine.

But Kiev also has reserve supplies that it could tap into. In the past, European nations have also resorted to 'reverse supply' – sending gas back through pipelines to Ukraine.

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Tampolan Telak