Russia and the EU on Wednesday traded accusations over violation of ceasefire as Ukraine started to withdraw its government troops from the contested town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine.

The Ukrainian armed forces and the National Guard started early Wednesday to withdraw from Debaltseve, a regional strategic hub, amid reports that the pro-independence rebels there besieged the town and the government troops attempted to break through the encirclement.

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini accused the separatist forces, saying their actions in Debaltseve are "a clear violation of the ceasefire."

"The separatists must stop all military activities. Russia and the separatists have to immediately and fully implement the commitments agreed to in Minsk, in line with yesterday's U.N. Security Council resolution, starting with the respect of the ceasefire and the withdrawal of all heavy weapons," she added, warning that the EU stands ready to take appropriate action.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Wednesday the ceasefire was almost entirely in place with the exception of the besieged town of Debaltseve.

"The ceasefire is being observed along practically the entire frontline and in a few regions there is a readiness - at least the militia announced it publicly - to withdraw heavy weapons. The exception is the Debaltseve 'cauldron'," Lavrov told a news conference.

There are attempts to break through the Debaltsevo encirclement through military forces rather than negotiations, according to Lavrov.

"We stand for the omnipresent (ceasefire), including in the Debaltsevo area," Lavrov said, hoping that the situation in Debaltsevo, where about 8,000 Ukrainian troops have been reportedly surrounded, would not be used to derail the peace process in Ukraine.

"To calm down the situation, it is necessary to stop using arms and attempts to change the current ceasefire starting from midnight of Feb. 15," Interfax news agency quoted Lavrov as saying.

Kiev authorities have repeatedly denied that government troops were encircled by militia in Debaltsevo.

On Wednesday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said the government forces are withdrawing from Debaltsevo "in a planned and well-organized manner."

The Ukrainian forces "were not encircled by the rebels," Poroshenko said ahead of his departure to the restive frontline town.

"Debaltseve was under our control, and there was no besiegement," Poroshenko said, without giving an exact reason for the pullback.

Ukrainian soldiers left the town with weaponry, tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other military equipment, he added.

The fighting in Debaltseve has been raging over the past days despite the ceasefire agreement reached last Thursday between the government troops and the rebel forces.

Insurgents claimed that the truce, reached in Minsk, capital of Belarus, does not apply to Debaltseve, as rebel leadership consider the town as "an internal territory" of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

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