A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine has been agreed after all-night talks involving the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.

It will come into effect on 15 February and will involve the withdrawal of heavy weapons, Russian President Vladimir Putin said.

"We have managed to agree on the main things," he told reporters after the talks, which began on Wednesday evening and lasted 17 hours.

Mr Putin said the discussions had dragged on because Kiev was unwilling to negotiate directly with rebels.

"Even though they have not been recognised, one needs to take into account the realities of life," he said.

The key points of the agreement signed by Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists are:

• A general ceasefire to start on Sunday
• Heavy weapons to be pulled back from a division line determined by both sides
• The provision of special status for the rebel regions
• Measures for addressing the humanitarian crisis affecting thousands of civilians caught up in the fighting

Mr Putin said there was still disagreement over the town of Debaltseve, a key transport hub and the centre of fierce fighting.

He said rebels consider Ukrainian troops there to be surrounded and believe they should surrender – but Russian President Petro Poroshenko disputes this.

The ceasefire deal was welcomed by French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led the discussions.

Mr Hollande said Mrs Merkel, Mr Poroshenko and himself would ask the European Union to back the agreement at a summit later on Thursday.

'Glimmer of hope'

Mrs Merkel said it offered a “glimmer of hope” that the conflict, which has claimed over 5,300 lives since April, would come to an end.

However, she added that "concrete steps must of course be taken and there will still be big hurdles ahead".

She said Mr Putin had put pressure on the separatist leaders to sign the deal, while Mr Poroshenko "did everything to achieve the possibility of an end to the bloodshed".

Ukraine received an extra boost when the International Monetary Fund confirmed a $17.5bn aid package for the country, conditional on sweeping economic reforms.

Before the deal was announced reports suggested little progress had been made at the summit, in the Belarusian capital Minsk.

Violence in eastern Ukraine intensified ahead of the talks, with 19 Ukrainian soldiers killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near Debaltseve. In the separatist stronghold of Donetsk, five people were killed and nine wounded in mortar attacks.

Kiev says around 50 tanks and dozens of other heavy weapons entered Ukraine from Russia while the peace talks were taking place.

Originally posted at 6.55am