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Ukraine conflict: Deadly shell hits Donetsk hospital Ukraine conflict: Deadly shell hits Donetsk hospital
(about 1 hour later)
Three people were killed and many more wounded when a shell hit a hospital in the rebel-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.Three people were killed and many more wounded when a shell hit a hospital in the rebel-held city of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Bodies could be seen under blankets outside the building after the attack.Bodies could be seen under blankets outside the building after the attack.
Nearby schools were also damaged in the blast, city officials said. Violence has surged in recent weeks, and the pro-Russian rebels are trying to encircle the key town of Debaltseve, north-east of Donetsk.
Violence has surged in the east in recent weeks, and the pro-Russian rebels have captured territory from government forces outside Donetsk, including the city's airport. EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini appealed for a truce to allow civilians to leave the area.
Residential areas of the two main rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk have regularly been hit by mortar rounds and rocket fire and the separatists have blamed the government for the attacks. Her words echoed an appeal by international observer group the OSCE on Tuesday for a three-day ceasefire around the town.
Wednesday's shelling in the south-western Kirovskiy district of the city came as EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini called for an immediate ceasefire to enable civilians to leave the conflict zone. According to Amnesty International, 7,000 people remain in Debaltseve, a major road and rail hub, out of an original population of 25,000 a few days ago.
Her words followed an appeal by international observer group the OSCE on Tuesday for a three-day truce. The separatists have already captured Donetsk airport from government forces in the past few weeks.
To the north-east of Donetsk, separatists have been trying to encircle government troops in the town of Debaltseve, a key transport hub, prompting local residents to flee. Within days, the population has fallen from 25,000 to 7,000, Amnesty International says. The hospital in the south-western Kirovskiy area of Donetsk was being used as an outpatient clinic at the time of the attack and many of the injured were patients and staff, BBC correspondent Olga Ivshina reports from the scene.
The hospital was being used as an outpatient clinic at the time of the attack and many of the injured were patients and staff, BBC correspondent Olga Ivshina reports from the scene.
The sound of shelling could still be heard two hours later, she said.The sound of shelling could still be heard two hours later, she said.
Residential areas of the two main rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk have regularly been hit by mortar rounds and rocket fire and the separatists have blamed the government for the attacks.
The OSCE said on Tuesday that it had found evidence of cluster munitions used in a 27 January attack on Luhansk.
Ukrainian officials responded by insisting that soldiers did not fire on civilian areas and did not use cluster munitions.
More than 5,000 people have been killed in a conflict which began in the east last April, when separatists seized government buildings after Russia announced it had annexed the Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea.
Russia's move on Crimea followed the toppling of President Viktor Yanukovych in Kiev.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of fomenting the violence in the east with weapons and soldiers, although that is denied by the government in Moscow.
Ukraine's President Poroshenko has said he is confident that the US will start sending lethal weapons to help government forces, although no decision has been made in Washington.
Secretary of State John Kerry is due to visit Kiev on Thursday amid reports that President Barack Obama is reviewing an earlier decision not to send weapons.
Ukraine's war: The human costUkraine's war: The human cost
Source: Figures from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 3 February, and UN report, 21 JanuarySource: Figures from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights 3 February, and UN report, 21 January
Why has violence flared in eastern Ukraine?