Pro-Russia separatists take over Krassniy Partizan city

Pro-Russia rebels were in charge of a former Ukrainian army checkpoint in the Donetsk region on Saturday, claiming they took it because the Ukrainian military "shot civilians". One rebel commander in the city of Krasniy Partizan said his men were taking control of the roads in the area to give them a strategic advantage. "This is the road from Horlivka to Donetsk and we had to take a detour before. Now it is winter and we want to capture roads," he said. But he also expressed a desire to be closer to home. Fighting has been intensifying recently for the government-held town of Debaltseve, 50 kilometres (31 miles) east of Donetsk. Main roads into the town are under separatist control and Kiev fears that Ukrainian forces stationed there could soon be fully surrounded. A peace deal signed in September in the Belarusian capital of Minsk envisaged a ceasefire and a pullout of heavy weapons from a division line in eastern Ukraine. It has been repeatedly violated by both sides, and heavy artillery and rocket barrages have increased the civilian death toll in the last few weeks. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/d85efa1d71fd1c7472a08a70ed63edf4 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork