ukraine battles prorussian rebels for access to key port
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

Ukraine battles pro-Russian rebels for access to key port

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today Ukraine battles pro-Russian rebels for access to key port

Tanks of pro-Russian separatists on the road from Donetsk
Starognativka - AFP

Ukraine on Wednesday reported intense battles with pro-Russian insurgents near the last major government stronghold in the former Soviet country's separatist east.

A military spokesman in Kiev said clashes north of the Sea of Azov port of Mariupol had killed one soldier and injured three.

The rebels reported the death of a civilian in a different part of the Russian-speaking war zone.

The latest battles are focused on the control of a highway linking Mariupol with the separatists' de facto capital Donetsk.

Most of the road is currently overseen by government forces. Its access could potentially help the insurgents step up their stop-start campaign to capture Mariupol.

The industrial port of nearly half a million  exports most of the east's factory output and provides a land bridge between rebel territories and the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula.

One resident of a village situated about half way between Donetsk and Mariupol said the exchanges of heavy mortar and rocket fire started on Monday and had not ceased since.

"It has been three days now -- day and night," said a pensioner who identified himself only as Andrei out of security concerns.

A local military spokesman said the two sides were now waging one of their most intense and continuous battles since the signing of a shaky  ceasefire deal in February.

"We are giving the enemy's artillery fire a sufficient and equally heavy response," local government forces spokesman Yaroslav Chepurniy told AFP.

"If they grab this territory, they will take Mariupol itself."

The United Nations estimates that the conflict -- sparked by the February 2014 ouster in Kiev of a Moscow-backed president -- has killed more than 6,800 people and driven at least 1.4 million from their homes.

Russia denies accusations by Ukraine and its allies of orchestrating and supporting the conflict to try to prevent the former Soviet state establishing closer ties with the West.

 

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ukraine battles prorussian rebels for access to key port ukraine battles prorussian rebels for access to key port

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

ukraine battles prorussian rebels for access to key port ukraine battles prorussian rebels for access to key port

 



GMT 15:46 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Festive Fashion by Dubai-based designer ASMARAÏA

GMT 09:00 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

May tours Europe in desperate bid to save Brexit deal

GMT 13:29 2018 Friday ,14 December

Turkey targets military over alleged Gulen links

GMT 09:12 2018 Wednesday ,12 December

Ford trains 1,600 motorists in Mideast, Africa in 2018

GMT 10:03 2018 Monday ,10 December

23 Palestinians arrested in West Bank

GMT 09:47 2018 Monday ,10 December

Russian ex-policeman convicted over 56 murders

GMT 19:01 2018 Thursday ,04 October

LEAD S. Korean firms offer aid for quake-hit Indonesia

GMT 11:02 2018 Tuesday ,11 December

ASE opens trading on lower note

GMT 14:08 2018 Friday ,14 December

Bank of Russia raises key rate

GMT 17:37 2017 Thursday ,04 May

Heba Rosas reveals foods that improve mood

GMT 05:35 2017 Thursday ,23 March

ECB: Protectionism may raise trade deficits
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2025 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday