Fighting intensifies in Ukraine ahead of peace talks
Published 9:26 am Tuesday, February 10, 2015
SARTANA, Ukraine — Fighting in eastern Ukraine intensified on Tuesday ahead of much-anticipated peace talks, with both sides claiming significant advances and the government accusing the rebels of shelling a town far behind the front lines.
The intense fighting, which the U.N. says has killed more than 5,300 people since April, comes ahead of a crucial summit involving Western leaders on Wednesday, as well as peace talks later Tuesday.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told Parliament that Russian-backed rebels launched an artillery strike on the town of Kramatorsk, which is more than 50 kilometers (30 miles) away from the front line. Poroshenko said the first round of rocket fire hit the headquarters of the Ukrainian command in eastern Ukraine and the second landed in a residential area.
The government-controlled Donetsk regional administration said seven people were killed, while 16 people were injured in the residential area and 10 more at the military headquarters.
Kramatorsk was the site of major fighting until July when pro-Russian separatists retreated.
Local website Donetskiye Novosti posted photos from the scene, showing an artillery shell stuck in the ground next to a residential building and two bodies lying nearby.
Rebels denied any involvement in the attack.
The volunteer Azov battalion, loyal to Kiev, said on social media on Tuesday that it captured several villages northeast of the strategic port of Mariupol, pushing the rebels closer to the border with Russia. However, rebel military spokesman Eduard Basurin said in a televised news conference that the rebels have not retreated.