CRISIS IN UKRAINE

Ukraine crisis: Russia assures US on aid convoy

"We saw a dozen light tanks speeding past... in the direction of the border... earlier military hardware had even been spotted crossing into Ukraine", reports Steve RosenbergRussia's defence secretary has assured his US counterpart that there are no military personnel in its controversial aid convoy for Ukraine, the US says.It said Sergey Shoygu told Chuck Hagel the convoy was not being used as a pretext to intervene further .The convoy, which aims to aid eastern Ukrainian cities held by pro-Russian rebels, is still stalled at the border.Earlier Russia denied Ukraine's claims that a column of Russian armoured vehicles had crossed the border.

'Will take some time'

The Pentagon said Mr Hagel had sought clarification on the convoy.It said: "Minister Shoygu 'guaranteed' that there were no Russian military personnel involved in the humanitarian convoy, nor was the convoy to be used as a pretext to further intervene in Ukraine." It said: "Minister Shoygu assured Secretary Hagel that Russia was meeting Ukraine's conditions."Russian armoured vehicles were being deployed close to the convoy outside Kamensk-ShakhtinskyBut Russia insists the convoy itself has no military personnelUkraine insists on a full inspection. Its border guards have arrived at the convoy but have not yet cleared it to pass. The BBC's Steve Rosenberg, who has been following the convoy, says some of the lorries were opened up for the media on Friday, and the main thing that struck him was how empty many of the vehicles were.The ICRC's Head of Operations for Europe and Central Asia, Laurent Corbaz, said: "The agreement... foresees that the trucks will be checked by the customs officers of Ukraine on Russian territory and then be allowed inside Ukraine with ICRC people accompanying the convoy and then unload somewhere in Luhansk and go back to Russia, empty."He said that given the size of the cargo and the security constraints, "implementation is likely to take some time", not in one week and possibly "much longer".Russia complained on Friday about Ukrainian operations in the area. The Russian foreign ministry said: "We draw attention to the sharp intensification of military action by Ukrainian forces with the apparent aim to stop the path, agreed on with Kiev, of a humanitarian convoy across the Russia-Ukraine border."

'Fantasy'

Ukraine in turn said it had partially destroyed an armoured column that had crossed from Russia overnight on Thursday.The alleged incursion was witnessed by two UK newspaper reporters.Russia's defence ministry said the incursion reports were "some kind of fantasy".Ukrainian servicemen guard a checkpoint outside DonetskIt said: "There was no Russian military column that crossed the Russian-Ukrainian border either at night or during the day."The incident prompted sharp words from Nato and the UK.Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said: "We see a continuous flow of weapons and fighters from Russia into eastern Ukraine, and it is a clear demonstration of continued Russian involvement in [its] destabilisation."A museum after shell damage in DonetskThe UK Foreign Office summoned Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko to explain.EU foreign ministers meeting in Brusselsissued a statement saying: "Any unilateral military actions on the part of the Russian Federation in Ukraine under any pretext, including humanitarian, will be considered by the European Union as a blatant violation of international law."Russia's government has consistently denied directly arming or training the rebels.However German Chancellor Angela Merkel told Russian President Vladimir Putin in a phone call on Friday to "put an end to the flow of military goods, military advisers and armed personnel over the border".The conflict in Ukraine's east, which has claimed more than 2,000 lives, has intensified in recent weeks.The violence began in April when pro-Russian rebels seized government buildings and tried to declare independence.The Ukrainian military launched an operation to retake the region and stepped up its activities in June.

                                -Source: BBC News

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CRISIS IN UKRAINE: ARMY CLOSES IN ON DONETSK REBELS

 Civilians have been taking refuge in bomb shelters in Donetsk

Ukrainian government forces are poised to take a key town in the east, which would divide the last two major pro-Russian rebel groups, reports say.

A rebel commander was quoted as saying Krasnyi Luch, a town between the two rebel strongholds of Luhansk and Donetsk, had been captured by the army.

Other rebels later said they would be willing to accept a ceasefire.

Some 1,500 people are believed to have died since the conflict began in April, when rebels stormed cities in the east.

The government stepped up operations to retake rebel-held areas following the election of Petro Poroshenko as president in June.

'Completely encircled'

Rebel commander Igor Girkin was quoted by Russian media as saying that Krasnyi Luch had been "captured" after Cossacks defending the town "ran away".

A small detachment of rebels, he said, was still holding out in the town, which connects the city of Donetsk with Ukraine's Luhansk region on the Russian border.

Girkin, who is also known as Strelkov, said his men in the Donetsk region were "completely encircled".

Ukrainian security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said he could not confirm that government forces had taken Krasnyi Luch.

Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the newly installed political leader of the rebels in Donetsk, was later quoted by the AP news agency as saying he would accept a ceasefire.

The Ukrainian military has been closing in on Donetsk city

People in Donetsk have been trying to secure their houses in case the conflict gets too close

Meanwhile, in the city of Luhansk, second only to Donetsk in its importance to the rebels, there are fears of a humanitarian disaster.

The city council reported on its website (in Russian) on Saturday that the city of 425,000 people had been without electricity and power for a week. Mobile phones and land lines were not working, it said.

Parts of the city were still being bombarded and most shops were shut, although bakeries and some chemist's shops remained opened, it added, quoting residents.

Western government accuse Russia or arming the rebels, a claim the government in Moscow denies.

In the latest violence, the Ukrainian government says 13 soldiers were killed on Friday.

A civilian was killed in Donetsk on Saturday when a shell hit a street in the city's Kirovskyy district, the city's official authorities reported. Shells also hit the Petrovskyy district, they added.

In other developments
The Russian navy "expelled" a US submarine from its territorial waters in the Barents Sea on Thursday, a navy source told Russian media
Russia announced it was freeing five Ukrainian officers for "humanitarian reasons", a day after announcing their arrest for suspected war crimes in Ukraine
The authorities in the Ukrainian capital Kiev dismantled protest barriers erected during the winter in the city centre
The UK and US v not to use humanitarian assistance as a pretext for sending troops into the east

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