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| Ukraine crisis: Battle erupts amid talk of truce | Ukraine crisis: Battle erupts amid talk of truce |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Heavy fighting has erupted between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels near the war-torn eastern town of Krasnyy Liman. | Heavy fighting has erupted between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatist rebels near the war-torn eastern town of Krasnyy Liman. |
| News of the fighting came after President Petro Poroshenko talked of declaring a unilateral truce in the near future. | |
| He said on Thursday that Ukraine would sign a historic association agreement with the EU on 27 June. | |
| Meanwhile, Nato said Russia had moved troops back to the Ukrainian border. | |
| Its secretary-general, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said at least a few thousand soldiers had been deployed there, in addition to existing forces. | |
| "I consider this a very regrettable step backwards and it seems that Russia keeps the option to intervene further," Mr Rasmussen said in London. | |
| Mr Poroshenko was elected president in May after six months of political turmoil which saw his elected predecessor, Viktor Yanukovych, ousted after he refused, at the last moment, to sign the EU association agreement and advocated closer ties with Russia instead. | |
| Since then, Russia annexed part of Ukraine's territory, Crimea, and has also been accused of stoking the rebellion in the east. | |
| According to a UN estimate reported this week, at least 356 people, including 257 civilians, have been killed in eastern Ukraine since 7 May. | |
| 'Hard fighting' | |
| Krasnyy Liman, a town of 28,000 close to the rebel stronghold of Sloviansk in Donetsk region, has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks. | Krasnyy Liman, a town of 28,000 close to the rebel stronghold of Sloviansk in Donetsk region, has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent weeks. |
| A Ukrainian military source told Reuters a "major battle" had begun and rebels reported government artillery strikes from 04:00 (01:00 GMT). | |
| Unverified amateur video posted on YouTube is said to show shelling of the village of Yampol, near Krasnyy Liman. | Unverified amateur video posted on YouTube is said to show shelling of the village of Yampol, near Krasnyy Liman. |
| Ukrainian government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov was quoted by Reuters as saying rebels were trying to break out of an encirclement in the area. | Ukrainian government forces spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov was quoted by Reuters as saying rebels were trying to break out of an encirclement in the area. |
| "We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons... They refused," he said. | "We issued an ultimatum to the terrorists overnight to surrender their weapons... They refused," he said. |
| Rebel commander Igor Girkin, better known as Strelkov, said on Facebook that "hard fighting" was under way near Yampol. His forces, he said, were up against tanks and ground attack aircraft. | Rebel commander Igor Girkin, better known as Strelkov, said on Facebook that "hard fighting" was under way near Yampol. His forces, he said, were up against tanks and ground attack aircraft. |
| According to the military source quoted by Reuters: "There's a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now." | According to the military source quoted by Reuters: "There's a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now." |
| Mr Poroshenko said he was considering a temporary truce which would allow militants in Donetsk and the neighbouring Luhansk region to lay down their arms. | Mr Poroshenko said he was considering a temporary truce which would allow militants in Donetsk and the neighbouring Luhansk region to lay down their arms. |
| Rebels rejected the call to surrender their arms. | Rebels rejected the call to surrender their arms. |
| However, a limited truce has been observed in Luhansk, where rebels and government forces have been exchanging the bodies of their dead. | |
| Kiev appointments | |
| Mr Poroshenko has replaced three senior officials in Kiev. | |
| Pavlo Klimkin was appointed foreign minister, replacing Andrii Deshchytsia, who drew outrage from Moscow at the weekend when he publicly used an obscene name to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin during a protest outside the Russian embassy in Kiev. | |
| Vitaliy Yarema was appointed chief prosecutor, replacing Oleh Makhnitskyy, an MP from the far-right Svoboda party, while Valeriya Hontaryeva took over as the country's central banker from Stepan Kubiv. | |
| Correspondents say the appointments are an assertion of authority by Mr Poroshenko. |