Ukraine: Daily Struggle On Conflict's Front Line

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Donetsk

As the fighting in eastern Ukraine intensifies, humanitarian conditions in the region are deteriorating.

Sky News filmed families in the rebel-controlled capital of Donetsk, as it was revealed the European Union has extended its first set of sanctions against the separatists and Russia, which has been accused of aiding the rebellion.

Some of the families in Donetsk have been living in underground shelters since July, too frightened to let their children play outside or go to school.

Two hundred people, including more than 50 children, are living in the basement of an arts centre in the city's western suburb - afraid to allow the children above ground for more than a few minutes at a time.

One eight-year-old girl said she could not remember when she last played outside.

Video: 'People Don't Have Money For Food'

"If they go out it's only for five minutes maximum," her mother, Vika Makeeva, told us.

"To get fresh air and come back."

They said the school had been shelled and it had no basement shelter so the children had not been since December.

UNICEF has provided them with hygiene kits, and individuals have donated food and toys for the children.

"They started to shell us from the Ukrainian side," Luba, one of the mothers, said.

"I took the child when he was asleep in his blanket, put him on a bike and we went to a shelter in the children's hospital, but it was really damp, with frogs, and then we came here."

Many of the residents have homes, but they are too frightened to return.

We went with one lady to check on her flat - she told us their block was shelled four days ago, and their roof destroyed.

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1. Gallery: Ukrainian Army's New Conscripts

   Conscripts attend a ceremony marking their enrolment in the Ukrainian army in Kiev

Relatives react as they attend the ceremony. Ukraine's parliament voted to refresh its front-line forces and resume partial conscription after a top security official warned Russian forces backing rebels had sharply increased military activity in the country's east. Continue through for more images

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Deadly Shell Strike As Ukrainians Queue For Aid

At least six people have been killed after shells hit a cultural centre and a trolleybus in the Ukrainian city of Donetsk.

People had been queuing for aid outside the building in the centre of the city when two artillery shells struck, witnesses said.

Sky's Katie Stallard, reporting from the scene in Donetsk, said: "We have seen five bodies at this location.

"We saw the bodies of two middle-aged women and two men on the ground. Another man was killed in a car a very short distance away.

"We are told he was trying to manoeuvre the car away as the shell came in, but he was killed as he sat in the driver's seat."

Video: Trolleybus Hit In Donetsk Shelling

Pictures from outside the cultural centre showed vehicles punctured by shrapnel and with their windows blown out. The tops of nearby trees had been blown off by the force of the blast.

The victims appeared to be dressed in civilian clothing.

The sixth victim was seen by a Reuters cameraman near the damaged trolleybus elsewhere in the city.

It was not immediately clear if the shells were fired by government troops or pro-Russian separatists.

A battle was also taking place around Debaltseve, a key government-held town of 25,000 people that straddles a railway connecting the two rebel centres of Luhansk and Donetsk.

Video: 'People Don't Have Money For Food'

The separatists claimed to have almost encircled the town, telling Ukrainian troops through Russian state TV: "Surrender and you will live".

The past week has seen some of the heaviest fighting in eastern Ukraine since a ceasefire was agreed five months ago.

US Secretary of State John Kerry will visit Kiev on Thursday for talks with President Petro Poroshenko and other Ukrainian officials, the US State Department said.

President Barack Obama this week voiced deep concern about renewed fighting between Russian-backed separatist and government forces in eastern Ukraine and said the US is considering all options short of military action to isolate Russia.

Conditions in Donetsk have been deteriorating as the violence has ramped up, with hundreds of people taking shelter in an arts centre too afraid to let their children play outside or go to school.

Video: Inside A Donetsk Bomb Shelter

More than 5,000 have died since the pro-Russian separatists declared their own 'People's Republics' in the region last April.

The rebels said peace talks due to take place in the Belarussian capital, Minsk, on Friday, had been called off after Kiev failed to send any representatives.

Meanwhile, NATO has announced it will deploy small units in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Bulgaria and Romania to help co-ordinate military exercises and set up command and control in response to Russia's action in Ukraine.

The forward units are expected to comprise only a few dozen troops, with Norway, Germany and the Netherlands expected to contribute.

Moscow has accused the European Union of adopting a "one-side reading" of the conflict and warned against further sanctions.

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EU Extends Russian Sanctions Over Ukraine Crisis

The European Union has extended its first set of sanctions against Russian and pro-Russian separatist officials by a further six months due to the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

The sanctions were due to expire in March, but Dutch foreign minister Bert Koenders said an extension sends a "strong signal toward Russia".

The extension was agreed during a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Thursday.

During the meeting, foreign ministers also agreed to add new names to its sanctions blacklist.

A pro-Russian separatist soldier at a checkpoint in Enakieve, Ukraine

Officials will hold a summit on 12 February to discuss whether to impose further measures against Russia, which has been accused of intervening militarily in the conflict.

"We have shown that the EU is ready to take further measures and to prepare further measures in the weeks to come if the situation doesn't improve," EU foreign affairs chief Federica Mogherini said.

Since Russia's annexation of Crimea, the EU has steadily increased its sanctions against Moscow.

Strict economic sanctions were imposed in July, which have stung Russia.

The EU will hold a summit on 12 February to discuss further measures

Ukrainian government forces destroyed railway tracks in Lukansk on Wednesday, which they believed were being used by separatists to transfer supplies.

On Saturday, 30 people were killed when rockets struck a densely-populated eastern district of Mariupol, leading to calls for further pressure from the EU.

More than 80 people were also injured in the separatist offensive, which saw homes, shops, schools and a busy market hit by long-range missiles.

International monitors confirmed that the rockets were fired from rebel-held territory.

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Ukraine: Daily Struggle On Conflict's Frontline

By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Donetsk

As the fighting in eastern Ukraine intensifies, humanitarian conditions in the region are deteriorating.

Sky News filmed families in the rebel-controlled capital of Donetsk, as it was revealed the European Union has extended its first set of sanctions against the separatists and Russia, which has been accused of aiding the rebellion.

Some of the families in Donetsk have been living in underground shelters since July, too frightened to let their children play outside or go to school.

Two hundred people, including more than 50 children, are living in the basement of an arts centre in the city's western suburb - afraid to allow the children above ground for more than a few minutes at a time.

Sky News witnessed long queues outside aid distribution points

One eight-year-old girl said she couldn't remember when she last played outside.

"If they go out it's only for five minutes maximum," her mother, Vika Makeeva, told us.

"To get fresh air and come back."

They said the school had been shelled and it had no basement shelter so the children hadn't been since December.

UNICEF has provided them with hygiene kits, and individuals have donated food and toys for the children.

"They started to shell us from the Ukrainian side," Luba, one of the mothers, said.

"I took the child when he was asleep in his blanket, put him on a bike and we went to a shelter in the children's hospital, but it was really damp, with frogs, and then we came here."

Many of the residents have homes, but they are too frightened to return.

We went with one lady to check on her flat - she told us their block was shelled four days ago, and their roof destroyed.

As she led us across the courtyard she heard outgoing rocket fire and hurried behind a concrete wall, listening for the sound of the impact so she could work out which direction it was heading.

She said this was why she was afraid to bring her children outside.

In the city centre we saw long queues of people, the majority of them pensioners, outside an aid distribution point.

It was bitterly cold and there was thick ice on the ground, but they had been waiting patiently since 8am for handouts donated by Ukraine's richest man, Rinat Akhmetov.

The Ukrainian government has cut off pensions and other social payments to those living in rebel-controlled areas like Donetsk.

There is food in the shops, but many have no money to buy it, and so find themselves dependent on donations.

"For six months we have had no pension," one elderly woman told us.

"We have no salaries, no pensions, that's it so we're queuing for help."

"This is how we live," her husband added.

"Waiting for the humanitarian aid, thanks that they are helping us."

Pavel Gudchok worked for a Ukrainian bank, but they closed the branches in Donetsk last year and now he can't find a job.

He was visibly shivering as he waited to help his grandmother at the aid point. 

"There's no money here, people are hungry here, without homes," the 24-year-old said.

"They need everything now."

The longer this goes on, the more attitudes here are hardening, the stronger the anger with Kiev - and the deeper the divisions in this already bitterly divided country.

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Risk V Reward In Islamic State Hostage Deal

Time is running out and pressure is mounting for the Jordanian and Japanese authorities.

The demand from Islamic State militants is the release of an Iraqi would-be suicide bomber in exchange for the lives of a Japanese journalist and a Jordanian fighter pilot.

Bluntly, the Jordanian authorities will now be weighing up the risks of releasing Sajida al Rishawi into the hands of a terrorist group against the reward for doing so.

:: The risks

1. Releasing a self-confessed terrorist into the hands of a terror group. Sajida al Rishawi confessed to trying to blow up the Radisson SAS hotel in Amman in 2005.

In her televised confession (which she later retracted) she said she hoped to kill as many men, women and children as possible.

Her husband's suicide belt went off. He died along with 36 other victims. Al Rishawi's belt did not go off and she was later arrested.

If she is handed over to IS militants, could she go on to carry out a successful suicide mission?

2. Bowing to terrorists' demands: No government wants to be seen to be bowing to the demands of the Islamic State.

Deals with terrorists embolden them and encourage them to take more people hostage.

The covert payment of ransoms by some governments has only added to Islamic State's wealth, which is already huge thanks to their control of oil assets in Syria and Iraq.

The Jordanian government will be under huge pressure by the Americans and others not to do any deal with Islamic State.

:: The rewards

1. The hostages survive: If Al Rishawi is released and Islamic State militants stick to the deal (there is no guarantee that they will) then clearly the lives of Kenji Goto and Lt Mu'ath al Kaseasbeh will be saved.

Emotionally, this is an overriding objective.

2. Intelligence: Agencies around the world would be extremely keen to "debrief" the two hostages and learn as much as possible about their captors.

It is thought that they were being held by a man dubbed 'Jihadi John', a Briton who was behind the beheading of a number of other hostages, including Britons David Haines and Allan Henning and Americans Steven Sotloff, James Foley and Peter Kassig.

Despite sustained efforts, he has not been located. Intelligence agencies could glean vital information from the two men.

:: Other options

There are other plausible scenarios which could secure the release of the two men.

Through backchannels in Jordan, a deal could perhaps be struck which would see the release of a number of other alleged Islamist militants who are in Jordanian jails, prisoners who are seen as less of a security risk.

If any deal is done though, the Jordanian and Japanese authorities will need a "proof of life", showing that Mr Goto and Lt al Kaseasbeh are still alive.

In Tuesday's demand, both men were seen only in photographs. Some in Jordan believe that Lt al Kaseasbeh is already dead. 

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Audio: Hostage Faces Death Within Hours

An audio recording purportedly from a man being held by IS militants says a fellow hostage has just hours to live unless an Iraqi prisoner is released.

The message, which is unverified, is believed to have been read out by Kenji Goto - a Japanese journalist taken by Islamic State militants last year.

In it the voice demands the release of Sajida al Rishawi, who was sentenced to death in Jordan for her involvement in a 2005 terrorist attack that killed 60 people.

The man states that a fellow hostage - Jordanian pilot Lieutenant Muath al Kasaesbeh - would be killed if the prisoner was not ready to be exchanged at the Turkish border with Syria by "sunset".

The brief message did not make it clear what the fate of either hostage would be even if the group's demands were met.

Video: Profile of Sajida Al Rishawi

Japan's chief cabinet secretary Yoshihide Suga said: "We are still in the process of verification but with all of the information gathered we think that there is a high probability that the voice was indeed that of Mr Goto."

Although the Jordanian government is willing to hand over the would-be suicide bomber, nations around the world - including the US - believe the deal with IS should not go ahead.

Such an exchange could set a dangerous precedent, encouraging terrorists to take more people hostage.

Video: Mum's Tearful Plea To Islamic State

However, if both hostages were to survive, it could provide crucial intelligence about their captors, as the whereabouts of a man dubbed "Jihadi John" remains unknown.

The family of Lt al Kaseasbeh have met Jordan's King Abdullah, where they were assured that "things were still positive".

Despite this, the country's Foreign Minister has not received any evidence that the pilot is alive and well.

Video: IS Hostage's 'Last Message'

The Japanese government is investigating the latest footage, which was originally uploaded to YouTube.

The mother of Kenji Goto has made a tearful appeal to Japan's Prime Minister to help save her son.

Junko Ishido said she had begged Shinzo Abe to "Please save Kenji" and to work with the Jordanian government to secure his release.

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Holocaust Survivors Mark Auschwitz Liberation

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Video: The Horrors Of Auschwitz Remembered

World leaders have joined around 300 Holocaust survivors at an event to mark 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp.

The gathering in southern Poland marks perhaps the last major anniversary that survivors of the camp will be able to attend in such numbers - the youngest are now in their 70s. 

Around 1.5 million people, mainly European Jews, were gassed, shot, hanged and burned at the camp in southern Poland during World War II, before the Red Army entered its gates in winter 1945.

World leaders, survivors and their families attended the commemoration

It has become probably the most poignant symbol of a Holocaust that claimed six million Jewish lives across Europe.

The presidents of Poland, Germany, France were among hundreds attending the commemoration in a giant tent erected over the brickwork entrance to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, part of the complex that is now a museum.

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1. Gallery: Holocaust Survivors Mark Auschwitz Liberation

   About 300 Holocaust survivors gathered to mark 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski (C) lays a wreath at the 'Wall of Death' in the camp

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A survivor touches the 'Wall of Death'

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Hollywood director Steven Spielberg (2R) at Auschwitz

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Spielberg attends a ceremony unveiling the Pillars of Remembrance at the memorial site

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The railway tracks that bore Jews in train wagons from all across Europe to their deaths were lit up gold, the countryside around covered in deep snow.

One 88-year-old Auschwitz survivor - who sang a memorial prayer during the commemoration - said the Holocaust was "almost impossible for a human mind to comprehend", adding that he "prays to God that we as human beings are able to learn something from it".

Another, Rose Schindler, explained how only 11 of her loved ones survived the Holocaust, out of more than 300 relatives.

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1. Gallery: Portraits Of Auschwitz Survivors

   Auschwitz death camp survivor Jacek Nadolny, 77. Jacek was seven during the Warsaw Uprising, when he was sent with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train

Jacek holds up a wartime photo of his family. In January 1945 the family were moved to a labour camp in Berlin

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Once the 85-year-old arrived at Auschwitz, she was chosen for slave labour and was given no chance to say goodbye to her parents and four siblings.

"I have no graves for my mother, sisters, my brother and my father. So this somehow is a way to say goodbye," she added.

Holocaust survivor Eizbieta Soczunska said: "In our minds we are still here, even if we are not here in person, and we want to underline that the children of Auschwitz are standing here today."

Video: Auschwitz Liberation Remembered

David Wisnia said: "I gave up anger long time ago because you are not going to accomplish anything (with it). The idea is to be good."

France's Francois Hollande made the trip less than three weeks after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly newspaper and a kosher supermarket in Paris.

Four French Jews were among the dead, the latest victims of a recent spate of armed attacks on Jews in Europe.

Video: Auschwitz-Birkenau: A Hell On Earth

Speaking earlier in the day at the Paris Shoah memorial to French Jews who died at Auschwitz and elsewhere during World War Two, Mr Hollande addressed France's 550,000-strong Jewish community.

"You, French people of the Jewish faith, your place is here, in your home. France is your country," he said.

US President Barack Obama, in a statement, said the Paris attacks were a "painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialisation of the Holocaust".

1/19

1. Gallery: 70th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Auschwitz Camp

   A general view of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim. The Germans built the Auschwitz camp in 1940 as a place of incarceration for the Poles

From 1942, it became the largest site of extermination of the Jews from Europe

]]>

Video: Survivor Tells Her Story

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We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.

Video: The Horrors Of Auschwitz Remembered

World leaders have joined around 300 Holocaust survivors at an event to mark 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp.

The gathering in southern Poland marks perhaps the last major anniversary that survivors of the camp will be able to attend in such numbers - the youngest are now in their 70s. 

Around 1.5 million people, mainly European Jews, were gassed, shot, hanged and burned at the camp in southern Poland during World War II, before the Red Army entered its gates in winter 1945.

World leaders, survivors and their families attended the commemoration

It has become probably the most poignant symbol of a Holocaust that claimed six million Jewish lives across Europe.

The presidents of Poland, Germany, France were among hundreds attending the commemoration in a giant tent erected over the brickwork entrance to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camp, part of the complex that is now a museum.

1/19

1. Gallery: Holocaust Survivors Mark Auschwitz Liberation

   About 300 Holocaust survivors gathered to mark 70 years since Soviet troops liberated the Auschwitz death camp

Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski (C) lays a wreath at the 'Wall of Death' in the camp

]]>

A survivor touches the 'Wall of Death'

]]>

Hollywood director Steven Spielberg (2R) at Auschwitz

]]>

Spielberg attends a ceremony unveiling the Pillars of Remembrance at the memorial site

]]>

The railway tracks that bore Jews in train wagons from all across Europe to their deaths were lit up gold, the countryside around covered in deep snow.

One 88-year-old Auschwitz survivor - who sang a memorial prayer during the commemoration - said the Holocaust was "almost impossible for a human mind to comprehend", adding that he "prays to God that we as human beings are able to learn something from it".

Another, Rose Schindler, explained how only 11 of her loved ones survived the Holocaust, out of more than 300 relatives.

1/28

1. Gallery: Portraits Of Auschwitz Survivors

   Auschwitz death camp survivor Jacek Nadolny, 77. Jacek was seven during the Warsaw Uprising, when he was sent with his family to Auschwitz-Birkenau by train

Jacek holds up a wartime photo of his family. In January 1945 the family were moved to a labour camp in Berlin

]]>

Once the 85-year-old arrived at Auschwitz, she was chosen for slave labour and was given no chance to say goodbye to her parents and four siblings.

"I have no graves for my mother, sisters, my brother and my father. So this somehow is a way to say goodbye," she added.

Holocaust survivor Eizbieta Soczunska said: "In our minds we are still here, even if we are not here in person, and we want to underline that the children of Auschwitz are standing here today."

Video: Auschwitz Liberation Remembered

David Wisnia said: "I gave up anger long time ago because you are not going to accomplish anything (with it). The idea is to be good."

France's Francois Hollande made the trip less than three weeks after Islamist gunmen killed 17 people in attacks on the Charlie Hebdo satirical weekly newspaper and a kosher supermarket in Paris.

Four French Jews were among the dead, the latest victims of a recent spate of armed attacks on Jews in Europe.

Video: Auschwitz-Birkenau: A Hell On Earth

Speaking earlier in the day at the Paris Shoah memorial to French Jews who died at Auschwitz and elsewhere during World War Two, Mr Hollande addressed France's 550,000-strong Jewish community.

"You, French people of the Jewish faith, your place is here, in your home. France is your country," he said.

US President Barack Obama, in a statement, said the Paris attacks were a "painful reminder of our obligation to condemn and combat rising anti-Semitism in all its forms, including the denial or trivialisation of the Holocaust".

1/19

1. Gallery: 70th Anniversary Of The Liberation Of Auschwitz Camp

   A general view of the former German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz in Oswiecim. The Germans built the Auschwitz camp in 1940 as a place of incarceration for the Poles

From 1942, it became the largest site of extermination of the Jews from Europe

]]>

Video: Survivor Tells Her Story

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Georgia Man Executed Despite 'Disabled' Claim

A man who killed a fellow inmate has been executed in Georgia despite claims by his lawyers that he was intellectually disabled.

Warren Lee Hill was put to death by injection of a single drug at the state prison in Jackson.

The 54-year-old had previously come within hours of execution on three separate occasions - however courts granted temporary reprieves each time.

His lawyers argued Hill was intellectually disabled and should not be executed.

The state argued the defence failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Hill was intellectually disabled.

More follows...

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At Least 30 Dead As Rebels Hit Ukraine Homes

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Video: Rebels Attack Ukraine Homes

At least 30 people have been killed in a rocket attack by pro-Russian rebels on the strategic port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine.

A further 83 people were injured in the separatist offensive, which saw homes, shops, schools and a busy market hit by long-range missiles.

The rockets were fired from rebel-held territory, international monitors have confirmed.

It led the European Union's foreign policy chief to warn of a further "grave deterioration" in EU-Russian relations.

Mariupol is strategically important

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the fighting in eastern Ukraine had sharply escalated with a large-scale offensive by Russian-backed separatists.

"This is in utter disregard of the ceasefire," he said in a statement.

1/8

1. Gallery: At Least 20 Dead In Ukraine Rocket Attack

   At least 20 people have been killed and 86 wounded in an attack on a residential area in the port city of Mariupol.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry says long-range rockets were fired on homes, buildings and a busy open air market.

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The attack came after rebels promised to escalate their campaign of violence.

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Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko has confirmed they launched the attack on Mariupol on Saturday morning.

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Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, is strategically important because it lies between the Russian mainland and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

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"Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are supporting these offensive operations with command and control systems, air defence systems with advanced surface-to-air missiles, unmanned aerial systems (drones), advanced multiple rocket launcher systems and electronic warfare systems.

"I strongly urge Russia to stop its military, political and financial support for the separatists, stop destabilising Ukraine and respect its international commitments."

Earlier, pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko announced the start of an offensive on the government-held city, only to later claim his forces had "conducted no active operations in Mariupol".

It came the day after he said he was ripping up the September peace agreement and launching an all-out offensive aimed at seizing lands.

He was quoted by a Russian news agency as saying at a memorial service for eight civilians killed at bus stop: "Today an offensive was launched on Mariupol. This will be the best possible monument to all our dead."

Ukrainian President President Petro Poroshenko has pledged to protect Ukrainian territory, and said he would convene an emergency meeting of the country's security council.

He said: "We are for peace, but we accept the challenge of the enemy. We will protect our motherland,"

Mariupol mayor Yuriy Khotlubei said in a video statement: "The shelling was carried out by militants. This is very clearly Russian aggression that has caused terrible losses for the residents of the eastern part of our city."

The authorities in the government-held city struggled to calm the panicking residents and condemned the attack on ordinary residents.

One resident said: "Obviously everyone in the city is very scared. The rebels have already seized the airport and now they are starting to destroy Mariupol itself."

Footage and pictures emerging from the city showed widespread damage.

Mariupol city council dismissed suggestions Ukrainian armed forces were planning to withdraw from the government-held city, which is strategically important because it lies between mainland Russia and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

In a statement, urging residents not to panic, the council said: "On the contrary, all units are on fully battle-ready. Security measures in the city have been strengthened."

A peace deal between the government and the separatists was signed in September but is has been repeatedly violated by both sides. It came after a push on the city of Mariupol in August.

There has been a significant increase in fighting in the last two weeks and the United Nations says 262 lives have been claimed in the past nine days alone.

Moscow has denied claims by the West that it has sent troops and weapons to support the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The nine-month conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people, has led to the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War.

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Video: Rebels Attack Ukraine Homes

At least 30 people have been killed in a rocket attack by pro-Russian rebels on the strategic port city of Mariupol in southeast Ukraine.

A further 83 people were injured in the separatist offensive, which saw homes, shops, schools and a busy market hit by long-range missiles.

The rockets were fired from rebel-held territory, international monitors have confirmed.

It led the European Union's foreign policy chief to warn of a further "grave deterioration" in EU-Russian relations.

Mariupol is strategically important

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the fighting in eastern Ukraine had sharply escalated with a large-scale offensive by Russian-backed separatists.

"This is in utter disregard of the ceasefire," he said in a statement.

1/8

1. Gallery: At Least 20 Dead In Ukraine Rocket Attack

   At least 20 people have been killed and 86 wounded in an attack on a residential area in the port city of Mariupol.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry says long-range rockets were fired on homes, buildings and a busy open air market.

]]>

The attack came after rebels promised to escalate their campaign of violence.

]]>

Separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko has confirmed they launched the attack on Mariupol on Saturday morning.

]]>

Mariupol, in the Donetsk region, is strategically important because it lies between the Russian mainland and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

]]>

"Russian troops in eastern Ukraine are supporting these offensive operations with command and control systems, air defence systems with advanced surface-to-air missiles, unmanned aerial systems (drones), advanced multiple rocket launcher systems and electronic warfare systems.

"I strongly urge Russia to stop its military, political and financial support for the separatists, stop destabilising Ukraine and respect its international commitments."

Earlier, pro-Russian separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko announced the start of an offensive on the government-held city, only to later claim his forces had "conducted no active operations in Mariupol".

It came the day after he said he was ripping up the September peace agreement and launching an all-out offensive aimed at seizing lands.

He was quoted by a Russian news agency as saying at a memorial service for eight civilians killed at bus stop: "Today an offensive was launched on Mariupol. This will be the best possible monument to all our dead."

Ukrainian President President Petro Poroshenko has pledged to protect Ukrainian territory, and said he would convene an emergency meeting of the country's security council.

He said: "We are for peace, but we accept the challenge of the enemy. We will protect our motherland,"

Mariupol mayor Yuriy Khotlubei said in a video statement: "The shelling was carried out by militants. This is very clearly Russian aggression that has caused terrible losses for the residents of the eastern part of our city."

The authorities in the government-held city struggled to calm the panicking residents and condemned the attack on ordinary residents.

One resident said: "Obviously everyone in the city is very scared. The rebels have already seized the airport and now they are starting to destroy Mariupol itself."

Footage and pictures emerging from the city showed widespread damage.

Mariupol city council dismissed suggestions Ukrainian armed forces were planning to withdraw from the government-held city, which is strategically important because it lies between mainland Russia and Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in March.

In a statement, urging residents not to panic, the council said: "On the contrary, all units are on fully battle-ready. Security measures in the city have been strengthened."

A peace deal between the government and the separatists was signed in September but is has been repeatedly violated by both sides. It came after a push on the city of Mariupol in August.

There has been a significant increase in fighting in the last two weeks and the United Nations says 262 lives have been claimed in the past nine days alone.

Moscow has denied claims by the West that it has sent troops and weapons to support the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

The nine-month conflict, which has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people, has led to the worst crisis in East-West relations since the Cold War.

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Japan Condemns 'Killing' Of IS Hostage

The Japanese government has condemned the apparent killing by Islamic State of one of two citizens being held hostage by militants.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe slammed "an outrageous and unforgivable act" after a video reportedly showing an image of captive Kenji Goto holding a picture of a beheaded Haruna Yukawa was posted online.

The clip also purportedly contained the voice of journalist Mr Goto, 47, claiming the 42-year-old private military company operator had been killed.

Mr Abe said the video, which also includes a demand for a prisoner exchange for Mr Goto, appears to be authentic.

Kyodo News agency reported the same video had been emailed to the wife of one of the hostages.

Kenji Goto purportedly claimed his fellow hostage has been killed

The jihadist group Islamic State (IS) had threatened to kill the captives unless a $200m (£133m) ransom was paid to secure their release.

The 72-hour deadline set by the Islamist militants expired on Friday.

Mr Abe insisted Tokyo would not bow to terrorism and said his government would spare no effort to secure the release of the remaining captive.

But he reiterated that Japan would not give in to terrorism.

In the video, Mr Goto apparently said IS was no longer demanding money for his release and now wanted a female alleged suicide bomber freed from detention in Jordan.

Haruna Yukawa is believed to have been killed by IS

He spoke in English, blaming Mr Abe for Mr Yukawa's death, and told his wife and family not to give up on him.

The hostages had appeared in videos wearing the same orange jumpsuits as those worn by captives in previous IS videos.

The mother of Mr Goto has pleaded with militants to spare her son's life.

Junko Ishido said he is a friend of Islam who devoted his life to helping children in war zones.

Mr Yukawa was seized by militants in August, after he went to Syria in what he described as a plan to launch a security company.

Mr Goto, a veteran war correspondent, went into Syria in late October seeking to secure Mr Yukawa's release, according to friends and business associates.

Mr Yukawa's father said he hoped "deep in his heart" that the news of his son's killing was not true.

"If I am ever reunited with him, I just want to give him a big hug," Shoichi Yukawa said.

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