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Ukraine crisis: Rebels shell Donetsk airport Ukraine conflict: Many soldiers dead in 'rocket strike'
(about 2 hours later)
Pro-Russian separatists in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk have shelled the city's airport, which is under the control of Ukrainian government forces. A rocket strike in the east Ukrainian region of Luhansk has killed up to 30 soldiers, Ukrainian officials say, blaming it on separatist rebels.
The rebels have regrouped in Donetsk as the Ukrainian military has retaken territory in the country's east. They said a barrage of Grad rockets had been fired by the rebels. Such weapons are classed as heavy artillery weapons, fired in batches from trucks.
Meanwhile, four Ukrainian soldiers and five coal miners are said to have been killed in separate incidents. Unconfirmed reports put the Ukrainian death toll as high as 30, with dozens more wounded, near Zelenopillya.
A report by Human rights group Amnesty International has accused separatists of abuses in the three-month conflict. Elsewhere, the rebels shelled Ukrainian troops at Donetsk airport.
Zoryan Shkyryak, an adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, gave details of the Zelenopillya rocket attack: "So far, the information available speaks of up to 30 [dead]. The number of casualties may increase."
The rebels, he said, had used a Grad system and the destruction was "really heavy".
A motorised brigade from Lviv, western Ukraine, was targeted in the rocket attack, the Ukrainian news website Unian reports.
The rebels have regrouped in Donetsk as the Ukrainian military has retaken territory in the country's east. The rebels have not yet broken through to the airport.
Beatings and torture
Meanwhile, a report by the human rights group Amnesty International has accused separatists of abuses in the three-month conflict.
The group said it had found "graphic and compelling evidence of savage beatings and other torture" by pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine.The group said it had found "graphic and compelling evidence of savage beatings and other torture" by pro-Russian groups in eastern Ukraine.
The Amnesty report, Abductions and Torture in Eastern Ukraine, said that protesters and journalists had been targeted, and hundreds of people had been abducted.The Amnesty report, Abductions and Torture in Eastern Ukraine, said that protesters and journalists had been targeted, and hundreds of people had been abducted.
Pro-government forces had also committed a smaller number of abuses, Amnesty said.Pro-government forces had also committed a smaller number of abuses, Amnesty said.
Rebel and government forces confirmed that Donetsk airport had come under fire overnight. One of the rebel leaders, Oleg Tsaryov, told the BBC that the militants would not surrender, despite increased pressure from Ukrainian government forces.
Residents in the area, quoted by Russian news agency Ria Novosti, said they heard explosions and machine-gun fire near the airport, and saw rockets launched towards it.
Rebels quoted by the agency said they were continuing an offensive on the airport, which has been held by Ukrainian government forces after briefly falling into separatist hands in May.
Ukrainian military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said on his Facebook page that the airport had been shelled for an hour on Thursday night.
Separately, two Ukrainian soldiers and one border guard were killed after their vehicle struck a landmine near Dovzhansky, near the Russian border.
In another incident, a soldier died close to Karlovka in the Donetsk region, Mr Seleznyov said.
Five coal miners were also killed after the bus they were travelling in came under mortar fire in Chervonopartizansk region, Ukrainian TV reports, quoting a doctor in the area.