Ukraine Forces Battle With Pro-Russia Separatists in Ukraine

Local Editor

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists were locked in fierce fighting in the east of the country after rebels rejected a call to lay down their arms in line with a proposed peace plan, Ukrainian military sources said on Thursday.

One military source said heavy fighting broke out near the town of Krasny Liman, which has been under government control since early this month [June], and that separatists in the area appeared to have tried to break through a cordon of government troops.

"There's a major battle going on which exceeds in terms of force and scale anything there has been up to now," the military source said.

A military analyst who has good sources in the military, Dmytro Tymchuk, said separately that fighting had begun when separatists refused a call for them to lay down their arms in line with a peace plan outlined by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

The military source further added that up to 4,000 separatist fighters could be involved and armored vehicles, possibly tanks, were being used by each side.

Furthermore, a government forces spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, said, "The anti-terrorist operation is continuing. There is a battle going on."

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team