While the Minsk II ceasefire has not yet taken full hold, observance has improved since the first week after the ceasefire began, when separatist and Russian forces occupied Debaltseve in Eastern Ukraine. The question now: will the ceasefire be fully implemented? It appears fragile at best. What happens at Mariupol has become a bellwether.
Following the February 11-12 meeting of Chancellor Merkel and Presidents Poroshenko, Putin and Hollande, the Contact Group representatives signed the Minsk II agreement. It provided for a ceasefire to begin at midnight on February 14.
The separatists and the Russian forces supporting them did not observe the ceasefire, …read more
Source: Brookings
