Ukraine conflict: Poroshenko calls for UN peacekeepers

At an emergency security meeting, he said such a force would help guarantee security "in a situation where the promise of peace is not being kept".

His comments came after Ukrainian troops withdrew from the strategic city of Debaltseve after intense fighting.

The rebel advance on Debaltseve, which came in spite of the ceasefire agreed last week, has been widely condemned.

Mr Poroshenko's request was approved by Ukraine's national security and defence council at the emergency meeting on Wednesday night.

"The issue was discussed and a decision has been taken to appeal to the UN and the EU concerning the setting up in Ukraine of a peacekeeping and security operation," council secretary Olexander Turchynov told reporters.

The move came after President Poroshenko said almost 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers had withdrawn from Debaltseve on Wednesday.

He said the withdrawal had been organised, but that at least six soldiers were killed and more than 100 wounded.

Earlier, a senior Ukrainian military official said 22 Ukrainian soldiers had died in Debaltseve over the past three days. Rebel claims of a much higher figure have been dismissed by the government.

The ceasefire, which came into effect on Sunday, has been broadly observed elsewhere in eastern Ukraine and some heavy weaponry is said to have been withdrawn by both sides.

However, staff from the OSCE security group that is monitoring the ceasefire have been unable to reach Debaltseve.

Rebel spokesman Eduard Basurin said the town was now "completely under the control" of the separatists, with just "scattered" pockets of resistance that were being "neutralised".

He claimed that more than 300 government soldiers had been taken prisoner. Ukraine's government admitted some troops were being held.

All Wednesday, the road out of Debaltseve into government-held territory thundered to the sound of retreating armour - tanks and troop carriers full of exhausted, sometimes defiant soldiers.

In a bus by the side of the road, I found one Yuri slumped on his seat, across the aisle from a sleeping colleague.

He said the situation had become increasingly dire and individual units had taken their own decisions to leave. They were running out of ammunition and in danger of being surrounded, he told me.

He blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for deceiving everyone about the ceasefire. We know him well by now, he said. When he says something is guaranteed, that means there's some kind of trap coming up.

In nearby fields, mortars and multiple rocket launchers fired back at the rebels - providing cover for those still trying to leave Debaltseve.

President Poroshenko says the withdrawal was planned and organised, but on the ground, it looked like a hasty retreat in the face of overwhelming odds.

(BBC)