Ukraine News Updates -- February 22, 2017

CNN: Ukraine ceasefire: No sign of weapons withdrawal, official says

(CNN)Peace in Eastern Ukraine remains tenuous as a spate of violations of a newly implemented ceasefire continued overnight into Wednesday.

A day after the head of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) warned the ceasefire had failed, German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel urged Kiev and Moscow to hold fast to the agreement.

Despite assurances given by both parties, he said, the "ceasefire is not holding."

"We can only urgently appeal to both sides to implement the agreements we have reached -- otherwise, we will risk an intensified military escalation with many other civilian victims and a continuation of the standstill in the political process," Gabriel said in a statement.

"Even the most intense negotiating efforts are in vain when there is no political will to implement them."

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Ukraine News Updates -- February 22, 2017

Monitor Says Ukraine Cease-Fire, Weapons Withdrawal Not Being Honored -- RFE
Ukraine ceasefire holding despite ‘violations -- BRICS Post
No cease-fire takes hold in Russia’s war on Ukraine -- Kyiv Post
Amnesty International reports warring sides in eastern Ukraine ‘enjoying impunity’ -- TASS
Poroshenko says war in Donbas kills 2,608 Ukrainian soldiers -- Kyiv Post
2,608 soldiers dead in eastern Ukraine, president says -- APA
Kiev to Restore Air Defense System, Spend $333Mln on Arms Procurement in 2017 -- Sputnik
Poroshenko: Russia could use military contingent in Transdniester to attack Ukraine -- Kyiv Post
Poroshenko says Ukraine refuses mobilization, retains military conscription -- Kyiv Post
Ukrainian right-wing groups stage anti-government rally in Kiev -- Reuters
Ukraine nationalists demand purge of government on the third anniversary of the Maidan uprising -- Euronews
Kiev’s military op in E. Ukraine ‘crime against own people’ – ex-Ukrainian President Yanukovich -- RT
Ukraine's former president says he never asked Russia to send troops to Ukraine in 2014 -- TASS
Russia, Ukraine clash over tribute to UN ambassador -- AFP
Two U.S. Lawmakers Back Lethal Weapons For Ukraine -- RFE
Ukraine lawmaker who met Trump associates faces treason probe -- CBS/AP
Corruption Tops War as No. 1 Hurdle to Ukrainian Investments -- Bloomberg