As Ukraine's Government sat down with pro-Russian separatists for peace talks in Minsk yesterday, the people of Debaltseve were gathering in their town hall for evacuation as fire from heavy-calibre weapons boomed.
Parts of the east Ukrainian town have been without power, water or gas for days, and it is now besieged on three sides by rebel forces, whose recent offensive destroyed hopes that September's peace accord would mark an end to the worst of the fighting.
Any potential for progress appeared stymied as the meeting in Minsk broke up after four hours, with the Ukrainian representative quoted as accusing the separatists of undermining the talks.
In Debaltseve, Vyacheslav Abroskin, regional head of police, said the decision to evacuate came amid "ceaseless artillery strikes", and "volunteers and police are travelling under fire to evacuate entire families".
Debaltseve is on the highway linking Donetsk with the other main rebel stronghold of Luhansk and is a vital railway link for goods from Russia, which Kiev accuses of arming the separatists.
