Rebels launch new offensive in Donetsk

World Today

With fighting spreading in Eastern Ukraine, EU Foreign Ministers have agreed to extend the current sanctions on Russia for six months, and additional sanctions will be considered. On the diplomatic front, a new round of talks is scheduled this week in Minsk, just as five more have been killed in ongoing shelling in Donetsk. CCTV’s Kate Parkinson reported this story from Donetsk.

The rebels have launched a new offensive in their bid to expand control in Ukraine, and border villages face constant shelling, while Ukranian forces try to hold their ground.

With close combat in the streets and both sides shelling each other daily, many residents of border villages have fled.

Renewed fighting has dashed any hopes of enforcing the ceasefire signed last September, and for the long-suffering residents of eastern Ukraine, the war has returned with full force.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of supporting the rebels, but, Moscow denies sending troops or arms to the separatists in eastern Ukraine. More than 5,000 have been killed since last April.