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| Chechen leader Kadyrov denies sending troops to Ukraine | Chechen leader Kadyrov denies sending troops to Ukraine |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader insists he has not sent troops to Ukraine to fight alongside pro-Russia separatists. | Chechnya's Moscow-backed leader insists he has not sent troops to Ukraine to fight alongside pro-Russia separatists. |
| In a statement, Ramzan Kadyrov said that as part of the Russian Federation, Chechnya had no armed forces - and that any Chechens operating in Ukraine were there in a personal capacity. | |
| Monday saw some of the worst fighting since rebels seized much of the east. | Monday saw some of the worst fighting since rebels seized much of the east. |
| The separatists say they lost up to 100 fighters as they tried to seize Donetsk airport from pro-Kiev forces. | The separatists say they lost up to 100 fighters as they tried to seize Donetsk airport from pro-Kiev forces. |
| Ukraine's interior ministry says the military is now in full control of the airport, although gunfire was reported in Donetsk itself on Wednesday. | Ukraine's interior ministry says the military is now in full control of the airport, although gunfire was reported in Donetsk itself on Wednesday. |
| A government fighter jet was seen flying over the city. | A government fighter jet was seen flying over the city. |
| New President Petro Poroshenko has vowed to tackle the eastern uprising. Russia has called for an immediate end to military action. | New President Petro Poroshenko has vowed to tackle the eastern uprising. Russia has called for an immediate end to military action. |
| Missing monitors | Missing monitors |
| Many of the separatists involved in the clashes at the airport were reported to be part of a unit called the Vostok (East) Battalion, said to include fighters from the northern Caucasus. | Many of the separatists involved in the clashes at the airport were reported to be part of a unit called the Vostok (East) Battalion, said to include fighters from the northern Caucasus. |
| In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Kadyrov said: "Ukrainian sources have been circulating reports that some Chechen units from Russia have invaded Donetsk. I officially declare that this is not true." | In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr Kadyrov said: "Ukrainian sources have been circulating reports that some Chechen units from Russia have invaded Donetsk. I officially declare that this is not true." |
| He added: "There are three million Chechens and two-thirds of them live outside the Chechen Republic, including in the West. We cannot know and are not supposed to know which of them goes where." | |
| Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says it has lost contact with a monitoring team. Four of its monitors were on a routine mission east of Donetsk when they were stopped at a checkpoint late on Monday, the security body says. | Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe says it has lost contact with a monitoring team. Four of its monitors were on a routine mission east of Donetsk when they were stopped at a checkpoint late on Monday, the security body says. |
| A spokesman told the BBC the men, were Turkish, Swiss, Estonian and Danish. Danish Trade Minister Mogens Jensen said it was believed they were being held by armed separatists. | |
| Meanwhile Poland's foreign minister said that a Polish Roman Catholic priest who had travelled to Donetsk had been abducted by the rebels. | Meanwhile Poland's foreign minister said that a Polish Roman Catholic priest who had travelled to Donetsk had been abducted by the rebels. |
| Mr Poroshenko won an outright majority in a presidential election on Sunday. | |
| The poll was called after President Viktor Yanukovych was deposed in February, amid mass protests against his pro-Russian policies. | |
| Separatists in Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence after referendums on 11 May, a move not recognised by Kiev or its Western allies. | |
| The two regions took their cue from a disputed referendum in Crimea, which led to Russia's annexation of the southern peninsula. | |
| Kiev and the West accuse Russia of stoking separatist sentiment in eastern Ukraine - a claim President Vladimir Putin denies. |