The Ukrainian army pulls the ring around Donetsk ever closer – Heavy fighting reported from the surrounding areas of the occupied by the separatists megacity. For the civilians according to media reports, flight corridors have been established.

The Ukrainian army is preparing an offensive on Donetsk. The city is under the control of pro-Russian separatists. Report Various Ukrainian media that the ring around the metropolis will always close. From the north, south and west of the Ukrainian troops drew near to the limits of Donetsk.

The soldiers brought in recent days, several cities in the surrounding areas under their control. On Monday, she Jassynuwata took a few miles north of Donetsk. To the east is heavy fighting around the city Schachtarsk that connects Donetsk with the further east and controlled by the separatist regions.

On Monday reported Ihor Mosiychuk, the former speaker of the Ukrainian Volunteer Battalion “Azov” that began “cleansing” of Donetsk. The spokesman of the “anti-terrorist operation” but said on Monday that there was “no information” about a start of the storming of the city. The Ukrainian units would meet only the “preparatory measures for the Storming of Donetsk”.

Previously fighting in the suburbs and around the airport will take place, the city itself fell in recent days only sporadically under attack. Last night the Donetsk Administrative According there was no fighting in the city.

Ukraine Conflict:Flight corridors in Donetsk and Luhansk

At the same time, the Ukrainian army corridors taught yesterday after several Ukrainian media reports in Donetsk and in 150 km south-west to a Luhansk, can leave the cities on the civilians. The fire will set there every day for several hours, said a military spokesman. The Security Council in Kiev called the civilians in Eastern Ukraine to leave the “terrorists” occupied territories quickly. Observers saw it as the possible preparation of a bombing.

The establishment of this flight corridors is obviously done in consultation with the separatists. As the “Washington Post” writes the Donetsk City Council published the routes of the different corridors on their homepage.

In Luhansk are by artillery bombardment, the water and electricity supply as well as the telephone network collapsed, said the administration of the city. Large supply problems also existed in Donetsk.

Ukraine Conflict:Hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers in Russia

Mystery continues to give messages about the whereabouts of more than 400 Ukrainian soldiers. They crossed the Russian frontier. Both the Ukrainian and the Russian government confirmed the incident. However, both parties gave contradictory statements: Kiev designated exceeding the limit as “tactical maneuver”, Moscow, however, spoke of desertion.

The Russian border authorities said that a total of 438 soldiers crossed the border at night, to seek asylum. “They are tired of the war and no longer want to partecipate,” the spokesman said of the border troops in the Rostov region, Vasily Malajew, the Reuters news agency. He later explained, 180 the soldiers had asked to be allowed to return to Ukraine again. They had been sent back to buses.

The Ukrainian government disagreed with the Russian representation of sharp, but admitted that hundreds of its soldiers to stay on Russian territory. A Defense Ministry spokesman said 311 soldiers and border guards are only dodged in heavy fighting with the separatists.

Because of increasing battles left several OSCE observers to the Russian checkpoints Gukowo on the border with Ukraine. The situation was (OSCE) has become too dangerous for the employees of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said the border guards Malajew. He accused the Ukrainian army to have bombarded the Russian border area again. At least one residential building was severely damaged. Russia criticized for weeks sharply from the bombardment of Ukrainian territory.

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