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| Ukraine conflict: Battles rage ahead of Minsk talks | Ukraine conflict: Battles rage ahead of Minsk talks |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Fighting has surged in eastern Ukraine as government forces and pro-Russian rebels try to make gains ahead of expected peace talks on Wednesday. | |
| Rebels carried out rocket attacks on a key military base and a residential area in Kramatorsk, officials say, killing at least seven civilians. | |
| Meanwhile, Ukraine's volunteer Azov battalion has launched an offensive against separatists around Mariupol. | Meanwhile, Ukraine's volunteer Azov battalion has launched an offensive against separatists around Mariupol. |
| More than 5,400 people have died since the conflict began last April. | More than 5,400 people have died since the conflict began last April. |
| The leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany are due to meet in the Belarusian capital Minsk on Wednesday to hammer out a peace deal after months of fighting. | |
| Russia denies Western and Ukrainian accusations of sending troops and arms to support the rebels and has warned the West that sending arms to Ukraine would worsen the crisis. | |
| US President Barack Obama said on Monday that he had not ruled out supplying "lethal defensive weapons" to Ukraine if diplomacy failed. | US President Barack Obama said on Monday that he had not ruled out supplying "lethal defensive weapons" to Ukraine if diplomacy failed. |
| Earlier, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told parliament that the government's military headquarters at Kramatorsk airfield had been shelled by rebels. | |
| At least seven people were killed and 16 wounded when a residential area was also hit, the government-controlled Donetsk regional administration said. Ten people were injured at the military base, it added. | |
| Kramatorsk, some distance west of the current conflict zone, was the scene of major fighting until July, when pro-Russian separatists retreated. | Kramatorsk, some distance west of the current conflict zone, was the scene of major fighting until July, when pro-Russian separatists retreated. |
| Local authorities said the rockets were fired from the rebel-controlled Horlivka area, which is about 50km (30 miles) away from the city. The separatists denied firing the rockets. | |
| Julia Dzuba, a resident of Kramatorsk who caught the shelling on film as it neared the apartment she lives in with her young child, told the BBC: "I was online, reading news, and then I heard boom, boom!" | Julia Dzuba, a resident of Kramatorsk who caught the shelling on film as it neared the apartment she lives in with her young child, told the BBC: "I was online, reading news, and then I heard boom, boom!" |
| "This is much worse than last summer," she said. "[T]hey are shooting at each other, and we are the ones who suffer." | "This is much worse than last summer," she said. "[T]hey are shooting at each other, and we are the ones who suffer." |
| The surge in fighting comes a day after separatists said they had cut off a key supply road to Debaltseve, a railway hub near the rebel-held city of Donetsk. The military says the battle is ongoing. | |
| Meanwhile, Andriy Biletsky, commander of the Azov battalion - an ultra-nationalist volunteer force based in Mariupol affiliated with Ukraine's interior ministry - confirmed to the BBC that its fighters were advancing and fighting pro-Russian rebels outside the southern port city. | Meanwhile, Andriy Biletsky, commander of the Azov battalion - an ultra-nationalist volunteer force based in Mariupol affiliated with Ukraine's interior ministry - confirmed to the BBC that its fighters were advancing and fighting pro-Russian rebels outside the southern port city. |
| "We have taken the villages of Shyrokine, Pavlovo, Kominternovo. We are currently moving towards Novoazovsk." | "We have taken the villages of Shyrokine, Pavlovo, Kominternovo. We are currently moving towards Novoazovsk." |
| On Saturday, Ukraine said rebels appeared to be massing forces for attacks on strategic towns, including Mariupol. | |
| The port city lies in a key coastal position between rebel-controlled areas and the Crimean peninsula. | The port city lies in a key coastal position between rebel-controlled areas and the Crimean peninsula. |
| Russia's Ria news agency reported on Tuesday that more than 600 Russian troops had started exercises in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last year. | Russia's Ria news agency reported on Tuesday that more than 600 Russian troops had started exercises in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia last year. |
| The Kremlin warned the West ahead of Wednesday's proposed peace talks against sending weapons to the Ukrainian government or putting pressure on Russia. | The Kremlin warned the West ahead of Wednesday's proposed peace talks against sending weapons to the Ukrainian government or putting pressure on Russia. |
| Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that any talk about imposing new sanctions on Russia or arming the Ukraine government would destabilise the situation in Ukraine. | Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said that any talk about imposing new sanctions on Russia or arming the Ukraine government would destabilise the situation in Ukraine. |
| 'Strong will' | |
| Germany's foreign ministry said senior officials from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine were holding talks in Minsk on Tuesday to iron out differences before its leaders met to seek an agreement. | |
| The proposed summit on Wednesday is expected to focus on the creation of a demilitarised zone of 50-70km (30-45 miles) around the current front line, as well as the withdrawal of heavy weapons. | |
| French President Francois Hollande said he was going to Minsk with the "strong will" to get a deal. | |
| Meanwhile, a court in Moscow extended the detention on Tuesday of Nadiya Savchenko, a Ukrainian military pilot who is accused of killing of two Russian journalists in eastern Ukraine last year. | |
| Ms Savchenko, 33, who was captured by rebels near Luhansk, has been on hunger strike since December to protest what her lawyers call absurd and politically-motivated charges. | |
| Ukraine has accused Russia of abducting her and has demanded she be released and allowed to go home. | |
| Are you in eastern Ukraine? Have you been affected by events? Email your experiences to | |
| Please leave a contact number if you are happy to speak to a BBC journalist. | Please leave a contact number if you are happy to speak to a BBC journalist. |
| Have your say | Have your say |