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Intense artillery fighting has broken out in the separatist bastion of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, according to AFP journalists in the area.
Firing close to the town centre began at 2:00am (local time) and could still be heard at the same intensity two hours later.
The press center for the anti-terrorist operation in eastern Ukraine has said that the troops defending the Donetsk airport have eliminated about 200 militants in the past 24 hours.
Amid a crumbling peace plan in Ukraine, NATO has reported Russian troop movement near the Ukrainian border. Meanwhile, Kyiv has vowed to protect eastern cities from the rebels trying to exert power over the region.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko convened the Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on Tuesday evening in reaction to the ballot held over the weekend by separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine.
Fighting flared up early Saturday at the airport north of Donetsk as the east Ukrainian city is getting ready for Sunday’s elections, a RIA Novosti correspondent says.
Artillery fire can also be heard in downtown Donetsk, our correspondent says. The Donetsk administration confirmed that “fierce heavy artillery fire and blasts are heard” across the entire city, though, it added, that fighting had not disrupted transport. It also described the previous night as “a relatively calm” one.
Self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine are planning to retake cities of Slaviansk, Kramatorsk and Mariupol, said prime minister of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, Thursday.
“Periods of intense hostilities will follow. We will retake Slaviansk, Kramatorsk and Mariupol. Unfortunately, it was impossible to make peaceful settlement the focus of negotiations. We are the only ones who comply with the regime of silence,” he stressed.