Ukraine forces "repel pro-Russian fighters attack on Donetsk airport"

Ukraine forces

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukrainian government troops say they have repelled an attack by pro-Russian fighters on Donetsk airport, BBC News reported.

All Saturday, September 13 morning gunfire was heard from the area, controlled by government forces despite rebel victories in the rest of the eastern city, with fresh violence as a big challenge to a fragile ceasefire agreed on September 5.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk has accused Russia of wanting to "eliminate" his country.

Ukraine and Western countries accuse Russia of intervening on the side of pro-Russian militants in eastern Ukraine. Russia denies this.

The BBC says most of the gunfire around the airport sounded like artillery, but that multiple rocket launchers have also been in use. On Friday night, a volley fired from somewhere much closer to the centre of the city was heard. There are additional reports of plumes of black smoke rising above the airport. A couple of hundred Ukrainian army troops have been holed up at the airport since June - but BBC says that something more concerted now appears to be going on there.

Also on Saturday morning, Russian customs officials said that a Russian aid convoy had crossed into eastern Ukraine.

A spokesman for the European security watchdog, the OSCE, told BBC that 220 Russian lorries had passed the border overnight and on Saturday morning - the majority of which were not inspected by either Ukraine or international observers.

Kiev and Western officials fear such convoys may contain military equipment to help the fighters, but Russia insists they contain essential humanitarian supplies such as generators, food and drink.

A similar convoy entered the country last month without Ukraine's permission, sparking condemnation from the U.S. and the EU.

Nato says Russia still has about 1,000 heavily armed troops in eastern Ukraine and about 20,000 more near the border. Russia denies sending direct military help to the militants, insisting that any Russian soldiers there are "volunteers".

Photo: Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP/Getty Images
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