Rebel-held Donetsk shelled by Ukrainian forces
Shells hit the rebel-held Ukrainian city of Donetsk, amid a continuing dispute over a Russian aid convoy now stationed close to the border.
An armed pro-Russian separatist points at a bus riddled with bullet holes at a checkpoint on the outskirts of Donetsk
Artillery shells have hit close to the centre of Ukraine's separatist-held city of Donetsk, killing at least one person, witnesses said.
With Ukrainian government forces tightening the noose on pro-Russian separatists, shelling rocked Donetsk on Thursday, sending frightened residents rushing for cover.
It was not immediately clear if the artillery was fired by government or rebel forces.
Two shells landed 200 metres from the Park Inn Radisson, one of the city's main hotels, shattering windows.
The blasts blew a hole on the third floor of an apartment block and left a broad crater on the pavement.
Nearby, a body covered by a sheet lay stretched out on the blood-stained ground.
Fierce clashes between government forces and rebel fighters have killed 74 civilians over the last three days in
east Ukraine's war-torn Donetsk region, local authorities said.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian government announced on Thursday that it was dispatching its own convoy of humanitarian aid to troubled eastern Ukraine.
The government said trucks would depart from the government-controlled cities of Kiev, Dnepropetrovsk and Kharkiv for a town in the Luhansk region later in the day.
The announcement came as a Russian aid convoy inched towards the border, raising concerns in Kiev that Moscow could be aiming to send in arms for the separatists under the guise of civilian supplies.
Ukrainian Infrastructure Minister Maxim Burbak said three convoys totalling 75 trucks would be carrying around 800 tonnes of aid, including grain, sugar and tinned food, as well as other basic requirements.
Meanwhile, addressing Russian ministers and members of parliament in Crimea, the Ukrainian region annexed by Russian this year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said his country would stand up for itself but not at the cost of confrontation with the outside world, a conciliatory note after months of tough rhetoric over the crisis
Putin's comments were low-key and he seemingly stayed away from his provocative self over a crisis that has dragged East-West relations to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.
"We must calmly, with dignity and effectively, build up our country, not fence it off from the outside world," Putin said.
"We need to consolidate and mobilise but not for war or any kind of confrontation ... for hard work in the name of Russia."
He also said Russia would do everything in its power to end the conflict in Ukraine as soon as possible and stop the
bloodshed there.
The standoff over Ukraine is now becoming much more costly for both sides, with the EU and United States imposing economic sanctions, and Russia retaliating by banning imports of many food products.
