Donetsk

Children among casualties as fighting continues in Ukraine

DONETSK -- Ukrainian armed forces on Sunday shelled more than 50 times the area of ??Donetsk and Gorlovka, while at least eight people were killed and 32 wounded.

This information came from the ministry of defense of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.

There has been heavy fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk as government forces have launched a counter-attack on the pro-Russian separatists.

Government spokesman said that the army has retaken most of the area surrounding the airport, which is of highly symbolic and strategic value, the BBC reports.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has been renewed with new intensity, claiming the lives of at least eleven people over the past day.

Military spokesperson Andriy Lysenko announced on Friday that at least six soldiers were killed and 18 were wounded in the past day, the Guardian reports.

All state-owned companies in Ukraine's Donbass region have been de facto nationalized, rebels say.

Alexander Zakharchenko, head of self-proclaimed "Donetsk People's Republic', has said in a press statement that in case of entities with "state participation" the rebel authorities are intending to "step in" as " business partners".

The latest push for peace in Ukraine appeared moribund on Dec. 25 after initial talks failed to agree when the warring sides should meet again to try ending their eight-month conflict.
       

As many as 90 Russian trucks have delivered loads of humanitarian aid to the Donbass region in Eastern Ukraine.

The convoy has transported there medicaments, construction and New Year presents.

Deliveries have a total weight of 1.4 tons. Some reports say the amount is higher and even put the number of trucks at up to 170.

Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels have “agreed in principle” on a ceasefire in the eastern war-torn region of Lugansk, the OSCE has said, as NATO foreign ministers met in Brussels Dec. 2 aiming to plot a new course on the country.

The new batch of EU sanctions against 13 representatives of the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics in eastern Ukraine and five organisations come into force on Saturday.

They were published in the Official Journal of the EU, with immediate effect. The sanctions includes asset freezes and travel bans within the EU.

B92 in Ukrainian village "destroyed by everyone"

STEPANOVKA -- As Kiev and Moscow exchange accusations of violations of agreements and a lack of desire to end the conflict, clashes continue daily near the Donetsk airport.

More people die as shelling of Donetsk continues

DONETSK -- At least two women were killed on Friday in the shelling of the town of Donetsk carried out by the Ukrainian army, Voice of Russia is reporting.

Strong detonations were heard in downtown and near the airport, where rebels and Ukrainian security forces continue to fight.