Ukraine ceasefire holds, but Obama sceptical

A ceasefire between the Ukraine government and separatist leaders seemed to be holding today, a rare positive sign in a conflict that has resulted in perhaps the highest tension between Russia and the West since the end of the Cold War.

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists have been battling in eastern Ukraine since April, leaving more than 2,200 people dead, according to the United Nations.

A truce deal signed on Friday after talks in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, is now in effect.

After roughly five months of bitter fighting between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian rebel groups, the question was always whether the ceasefire will last.

Artillery fire and explosions were heard in the flashpoint Ukrainian city of Donetsk around the time the ceasefire went into effect, the city's web site said. But there were no subsequent reports of major incidents.

Obama worried ceasefire won't last

President Barack Obama said he was hopeful but sceptical that the ceasefire would hold, questioning whether the rebels would adhere to it.

Obama, speaking at the end of a NATO summit in Wales, added that NATO was "fully united in support of Ukraine's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity and [confident of] its ability to defend itself."

Member nations would send non-lethal military aid and help modernise Ukraine's security forces, while the United States and European allies finalise measures "to deepen and broaden sanctions" against Russia, he said.

The Ukrainian government and the West accuse Moscow of both arming the rebels and sending Russian troops into Ukraine to aid them; claims that Moscow has repeatedly but unconvincingly denied.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the ceasefire deal was based on his peace plan and an agreement reached in a phone call this week with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"We are ready to provide significant steps, including the decentralisation of power," he said, as well as greater economic freedoms for the Luhansk and Donetsk regions and guarantees that their culture and language be respected. Many people in eastern Ukraine are Russian speakers.

The talks in Minsk brought together the leaders of the separatist groups with former Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma, as well as Russian representatives.

The ceasefire, however, does not mean the end of the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic and the Luhansk People's Republic, separatist leaders said at a televised news conference after signing the deal.