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As the supposed cease-fire in Ukraine fails to end the bloodshed in the east of the country, fresh data on Tuesday showed the extent of the pain being felt within the country's economy.

The country - ravaged by conflict between government troops and pro-Russian separatists posted a fall in gross domestic product (GDP) of 15.2 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to the State Statistics Service of Ukraine on Tuesday morning. The figures also showed a 3.8 percent fall from the previous quarter amid the political upheaval in Kiev.

The data were the worst for several years and are significantly down from the 5.3 percent contraction (year-on-year) recorded in the third quarter. They also come alongside some dismal trade balance data, which highlighted weak domestic demand in the country.

Timothy Ash, head of emerging markets at Standard Bank, said the figures were a sad indictment of the international community.

"Despite all the rhetoric that they would not allow Ukraine to fail, they failed to support Ukraine in its hour of need," he said in a note on Tuesday.

"Western credit disbursements were a fraction of what was promised, but at the same time the Ukrainians were advised to pay external debt payments in full, and to clear gas debts to Russia."

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Ukraine GDP tanks 15% as fighting drags on

LUHANSKE, Ukraine A cease-fire that went into effect Sunday in eastern Ukraine appeared largely to be holding, officials said, except for around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.

Heavy fog shrouding sodden fields muffled the sound of artillery, but regular shelling could still be heard Sunday from Luhanske, a town about 9 miles to the northwest. Associated Press journalists were blocked from moving closer by Ukrainian troops, who said it was not safe to travel ahead.

The cease-fire has kindled slender hopes of reprieve from the conflict between the government troops and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed more than 5,300 lives since it began in April.

Attention will be focused in the coming days on Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces have for weeks been fending off severe onslaughts from the rebels. The town is a railway link between the main separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

This latest cessation of hostilities was agreed after a marathon session of diplomacy last week that brought together the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France for talks in the capital of Belarus, Minsk.

Under the deal hammered out at those negotiations, the progress of the cease-fire is to be monitored by observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin complained Sunday that rebels had barred OSCE monitors from reaching Debaltseve to report on developments there.

"It quite clearly shows who is in breach of the Minsk agreement," Klimkin said.

The press office for government military operations in the east said in a statement that Sunday was characterized by a relative degree of calm.

"There has unfortunately not been a total cessation of fire, however," the statement said.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian army general staff, Vladislav Seleznyov, said during a morning briefing that shelling was noted 10 times, with all but one incident occurring in the Debaltseve area. Another military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said Sunday that nine Ukrainian troops had died over the previous day's unrest.

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Ukraine cease-fire largely holding, except around strategic railway hub

Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko said Friday that a ceasefire due to go into effect over the weekend between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine is in "big danger."

Fighting continued ahead of the cessation of the bitter 10-month-long conflict that has killed more than 5,000 people and strained East-West relations.

The peace plan hammered out Thursday during marathon four-way talks in Minsk, Belarus, had raised hopes of an end to the fighting.

But Poroshenko said that after the agreement reached by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France, the offensive against Ukrainian troops by pro-Russian separatists had intensified.

"This is not just an attack on Ukrainian civilians, this is an attack of the Minsk results," he said in Kiev, adding the peace plan is in "big danger."

The ceasefire agreement comes with many questions over how it will be implemented and whether it will stick.

The first test will be whether the guns fall silent when the ceasefire comes into force at midnight local time Saturday to Sunday.

Both sides are expected to start pulling back their heavy weapons from the front lines as of Monday, creating a buffer zone at least 50 kilometers (31 miles) wide.

The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which already has a monitoring mission in Ukraine, has been given the challenging task of overseeing the process.

"We need to have an effective ceasefire," said OSCE Secretary General Lamberto Zannier, at a media briefing. "So I'm already concerned that we are seeing this morning a continuation of hostilities."

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Ukraine President: Ceasefire in 'big danger'

KIEV, Ukraine, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Ukraine, fast running out of cash, is awaiting the release of promised international financial aid of $40 billion to pay its bills.

There are fears the country, in conflict with pro-Russian separatists over its eastern territory and directly with Russia over payments for the natural gas it imports, is near bankruptcy and reliant on the International Monetary Fund for rescue. The IMF pledged $17 billion, earlier in February, but the funding has not yet been released.

"This is a very serious financial crisis there's no question, and we're looking forward to the IMF board meeting and the IMF first tranche (of aid) because it's a critical time," Ukrainian finance minister Natalie Jaresko, finance minister, told CNBC Wednesday. "We've worked very quickly over the last two months to come to a program of Ukrainian reforms so I believe we will be doing everything we need to do to ensure that money does come, and comes as soon as possible."

Tuesday Jaresko said Ukraine was looking only at a 12- to 15-month program.

We are not discussing our financial needs for a three or four year program, we are really focused on 12 to 15 months right now. "The numbers I can give you right now are the estimates that you see in the press," a reference to a figure of about $15 billion more from the IMF. "Now we are in the process of discussing that further."

As part of accepting $17 billion in bailout loans in early 2014, payable within two years, Ukraine agreed to austerity measures which included an increase in taxes, the withdrawal of subsidies on natural gas and the abolition of 24,000 government jobs.

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Ukraine: running out of money

Ukrainian government soldiers on a road stretching away from the town of Artemivsk, Ukraine, towards Debaltseve. Photo: Petr David Josek

Donetsk, Ukraine: Government forces and pro-Russian separatists said they would not carry out an agreement to pull back heavy guns in east Ukraine, pushing a shaky peace deal closer to collapse.

Fighting has eased in many areas since a ceasefire came into force on Sunday, but the rebels have refused to halt attacks on a town where Ukrainian forces are encircled and Kiev says it will not pull back its big guns until the truce holds.

Monitors from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe(OSCE) were expected to try to reach the besieged town, Debaltseve, after Germany said it had agreed on steps with the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to ensure the observers had "free access" in the east.

But a call by Berlin for the withdrawal of heavy weaponry to start seemed to have fallen on deaf ears, though officials from Russia, Ukraine, the OSCE and the rebels were expected to discuss implementation of the peace deal by phone.

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"We do not have the right [to stop fighting for Debaltseve]," said Denis Pushilin, a senior separatist representative. "It's even a moral thing. It's internal territory.

"We have to respond to fire, to work on destroying the enemy's fighting positions."

Asked about plans to carry out the agreement to withdraw big guns, he said: "We are ready at any time, we have everything ready for a mutual withdrawal. We will not do anything unilaterally. That would make our soldiers targets."

Ukraine's military reiterated that its forces also also could not start withdrawing big weapons such as heavy artillery, as set out in the deal reached at marathon talks brokered by France and Germany in the Belarussian capital of Minsk last Thursday.

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Ukraine peace deal close to collapse