Fresh clashes erupt in eastern Ukraine
Fresh clashes have broken out in the eastern Ukraine’s region of Donetsk.
“According to residents, powerful volleys and explosions of heavy weapons can be heard in many districts” of the pro-Russians’ stronghold of Donetsk, a statement by the Ukrainian government said on Sunday.
Witnesses were also quoted as saying that several dozen blasts of artillery fire occurred in central Donetsk without providing more details on who was behind them and what had been targeted.
Earlier in the day, Andriy Lysenko, a Ukrainian military spokesman, warned about a possible attack by the pro-Russians.
“Compared with previous days, the number and intensity (of shelling) fell, but there are signs of rebels and Russian forces preparing for an offensive,” Lysenko said in a briefing in Kyiv.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Kyiv was ready for a “total war” with Russia over the crisis in the eastern part of the country.
“I am not afraid of a war with Russian troops,” the Ukrainian president told German daily Bild in an interview.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and the Ukrainian army since Kyiv launched military operations to silence the pro-Russians in mid-April.
According to the latest figures by the United Nations, more than 4,000 people have been killed and over 9,300 others injured in the fighting. In addition, hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes.
Kyiv and the pro-Russians inked a truce pact on September 5 in an effort to put an end to heavy clashes in Ukraine’s eastern provinces, but the fighting continues unabated.
IA/NT/AS