2014-08-15 09:51:00

Ukraine: Donetsk rocked by artillery shells: residents run


(Vatican Radio) Heavy shelling has hit the separatist-run Ukrainian city of Donetsk, killing at least one person, while a large Russian aid convoy rumbled towards the border. 

Listen to the report by correspondent Stefan Bos

Thursday's attacks came as officials in Ukraine said at least 94 people were killed and 116 others injured during clashes between the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia rebels in eastern Ukraine over the past three days.  

For the first time artillery shells hit close to the centre of Donetsk, with as many as 50,000 government forces recapturing territory from pro-Russia separatists. 

Frightened residents were seen rushing for cover as two shells landed 200 metres from one of the city’s main hotels,the Park Inn Radisson, shattering windows. 

APARTMENT BLOCK DAMAGED 

The blasts also damaged the third floor of an apartment block and left a broad crater on the pavement. Reporters saw a body covered by a sheet on the blood-stained ground.

The fighting came while a Russian aid convoy of some 280 trucks attempted to reach the Ukrainian border. But Ukraine's Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk warned Russian not to intervene. 

“There is no limit to Russian cynicism," he said. "At first they deliver tanks and [Grad] multiple rocket launcher systems to terrorists and criminals to shoot Ukrainians. And than they bring water and salt.”

Kiev says it only accepts support from the Red Cross amid concerns that humanitarian aid is a cover for a Russian military invasion into Ukraine. 

MOSCOW DENIES WRONGDOING

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov condemned Kiev's opposition to Russian aid. 

"Russia has into account all requests from Ukraine, including the route that was suggested by Kyiv, 
though it is a very long detour," he explained. 

Moscow claims it wants to deliver 2,000 tonnes of water, baby food and other humanitarian aid to residents in eastern Ukraine. 

Among them are many ethnic Russians, who have been without clean water and electricity for days, amid fierce fighting.








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