More than a dozen more civilians and soldiers have been killed since leaders signed a new peace deal brokered by Germany and France, called the ‘Minsk Two’, was agreed upon. CCTV’s Kate Parkinson is in Kiev to explain the rocky path to peace there.

Soldiers from a pro-Kiev volunteer battalion paid their last respects to one of their own killed in eastern Ukraine. Over 5,000 people have been killed since fighting began.

A dramatic rise in casualties in recent weeks prompted a diplomatic scramble to deescalate tensions, but after months of bitter war the rushed ceasefire deal isn’t working fast enough and pro-Kiev fighters feel their months of deadly fighting could be for little gain.

“We think we should retake all the Ukrainian territory so all our sacrifices during this war will not be in vane. We don’t agree to any ceasefire or any deal. We believe that both Crimea and the Donbass region should be liberated and this is precisely why we have come together. People come from all over Ukraine to fight for this land,” Oleksii, volunteer battalion commander said.

Since last month rebels have pushed Kiev’s troops back to expand their territory. Under the new deal, shooting was set to stop by Sunday followed by a pull-back of heavy weaponry in a plan some argue favors one side. While rebels are instructed to pull back from a ceasefire line drawn out last September, Ukrainian forces must retreat from a current line of control as it exists today. It means Ukrainian forces must retreat from territory they’ve fought hard to hold onto during a latest offensive by rebels, leading some to say the Ukrainian president gave in too quickly giving Moscow the upper hand in the deal.