Government forces were pulling out of an encircled town in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday after a fierce assault by Russian-backed separatists which Kiev and Europe said violated a crumbling ceasefire.
President Petro Poroshenko said more than 80 per cent of his troops had left the rail hub following a heavy bombardment and street-by-street battles which he said showed "the true face of the bandits and separatists who are supported by Russia".
