Civilians killed as fighting erupts in east Ukraine

The port city of Mariupol is a long-term target for the separatist group known as the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR), who have held on to large swathes of land in Ukraine’s Donetsk region and declared themselves independent of Ukraine in May, after the country’s pro-European Maidan protests toppled pro-Russian president Viktor Yanukovych in early 2014.

On Monday, local residents said it was the third consecutive day their neighborhood, close to the city’s airport, came under heavy artillery fire.

The battle has killed an estimated 6,400 individuals since April 2014, in accordance with the United Nations.

The OSCE says both sides have deployed heavy weapons in violation of the cease-fire deal.

Several civilians were killed by shelling in eastern Ukraine on Sunday night, amid a surge in violence that has raised fears of a return to full-scale hostilities between government forces and Russian-backed separatists.

The separatist website DAN quoted the separatist mayor of Horlivka as saying at least three people had been killed and four wounded as a result of government shelling of the town, a regular hot spot north of the main rebel stronghold of Donetsk. Both sides conceded that at least seven civilians were killed amongst the fighting, along with two Ukrainian soldiers, according to government sources.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, meanwhile, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of trying to whip up tensions in eastern Ukraine by visiting Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine a year ago.

“As of now the [OSCE] has observed 11 craters from, mainly 120 mm shells, 25 houses damaged”.

Kiev’s National Security and Defense Council has said an estimated 9,000 Russian Federation Armed Forces personnel are believed to be inside Ukraine.

In turn, rebel commanders accused government forces of killing five civilians in artillery attacks on urban areas under their control.

“We are concerned by the course of events in recent days which very strongly resembles the preparation for more military action”, foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The Russian Foreign Ministry denounced Kirby’s comments as “the U.S. State Department’s effective approval of the Ukrainian Army’s attacks on rebel positions”.

Last weekend, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said the situation in eastern Ukraine is growing increasingly risky and urged fresh diplomatic efforts to ensure the situation doesn’t deteriorate.

Some separatist offensives have previously been halted by strong Western criticism of Russian Federation – an increasingly isolated giant that faces the threat of even stronger Western sanctions for its alleged support of most rebel campaigns.