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Fears for Ukraine ceasefire after fresh reports of civilian deaths Fears for Ukraine ceasefire after fresh reports of civilian deaths
(35 minutes later)
More civilian deaths and a new and unusually intense round of fighting in eastern Ukraine have rekindled fears that a shaky ceasefire deal reached in February may be close to collapsing. Separatists in east Ukraine said 15 people in territory under their control were killed on Wednesday during battles around the rebel stronghold of Donetsk that is threatening to tip the country back into full-blown war. Two other deaths were reported in a government-controlled area.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said rebels early on Wednesday morning mounted a major artillery barrage against government-held suburbs to the west of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk. Russian news agencies cited rebel armed forces chief Vladimir Kononov as saying the dead included fighters and civilians. The figure could not immediately be verified.
“The enemy is trying to advance. Ukrainian troops are repelling all attacks and successfully holding on to their positions,” Lysenko said. The Ukrainian government and rebels have accused one another of triggering the latest round of unrest, which marks some of the worst violence since a ceasefire deal was reached in February.
“The Ukrainian side has carried out a provocation and started shelling our positions all along the front,” the Interfax news agency quoted Kononov as saying.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko accused rebels of mounting a major artillery barrage against government-held suburbs west of Donetsk early on Wednesday. “The enemy is trying to advance. Ukrainian troops are repelling all attacks and successfully holding on to their positions,” he said.
Related: First day of Ukraine ceasefire deal still sees fightingRelated: First day of Ukraine ceasefire deal still sees fighting
Russian news agencies cited rebel military spokesman Eduard Basurin as denying separatists were mounting an attack. He was quoted as claiming that Ukrainians were voluntarily abandoning their positions.
Videos uploaded to the internet by residents in the area appeared to show columns of smoke rising above the districts where Ukrainian authorities said fighting was taking place.
Implementation of the ceasefire agreement has foundered as low-intensity battles rage along several points of the 280-mile (450km) front. Negotiators from both sides met for talks in Belarus on Tuesday but the session concluded without obvious progress.Implementation of the ceasefire agreement has foundered as low-intensity battles rage along several points of the 280-mile (450km) front. Negotiators from both sides met for talks in Belarus on Tuesday but the session concluded without obvious progress.
Reports of casualties among government and separatist fighters have continued unabated, but deaths among noncombattants had almost ceased. That trend has been disrupted in recent days in an indication that the warring sides were again resorting to indiscriminate shelling. Reports of casualties among government and separatist fighters have continued unabated, but deaths among noncombatants had almost ceased. That trend has been disrupted in recent days in an indication that the warring sides were again resorting to indiscriminate shelling.
The head of the government-controlled part of Luhansk region, Hennadiy Moskal, said in a statement on his official website that an elderly couple died when their car was struck by a mortar on Wednesday morning. The statement said the strike occurred 12 miles (20km) into government-held territory.The head of the government-controlled part of Luhansk region, Hennadiy Moskal, said in a statement on his official website that an elderly couple died when their car was struck by a mortar on Wednesday morning. The statement said the strike occurred 12 miles (20km) into government-held territory.
Related: Donetsk opera house: tanks on the street but the show must go onRelated: Donetsk opera house: tanks on the street but the show must go on
Russia’s Interfax news agency cited a rebel representative as saying that one resident in the town of Yenakieve was killed near a waste treatment plant during a 20-minute barrage. Ukraine’s military denies it attacked Yenakieve.Russia’s Interfax news agency cited a rebel representative as saying that one resident in the town of Yenakieve was killed near a waste treatment plant during a 20-minute barrage. Ukraine’s military denies it attacked Yenakieve.
The war has killed more than 6,400 people since April 2014.The war has killed more than 6,400 people since April 2014.
The armistice signed in February requires both sides to pull back heavy weapons from the front line, but international observers tasked with vetting that process regularly note violations across the board.The armistice signed in February requires both sides to pull back heavy weapons from the front line, but international observers tasked with vetting that process regularly note violations across the board.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in its most recent status report that its monitors on Monday heard 109 mainly outgoing explosions from the area around Donetsk airport, which is under rebel control. That neighbourhood is around 10 miles from Krasnohorivka and Marinka, the suburbs where fighting took place on Wednesday. The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in its most recent status report that its monitors on Monday heard 109 mainly outgoing explosions from the area around Donetsk airport, which is under rebel control. That neighbourhood is about 10 miles from Krasnohorivka and Marinka, the suburbs where fighting took place on Wednesday.