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         Ukraine Demands Rebels Surrender as Fighting Rages in Donetsk

   by VOA News

   A Ukrainian military spokesman rejected a pro-Russian separatist call
   for a cease-fire, as fighting continues unabated in eastern Ukraine.

   Ukrainian troops have surrounded Donetsk in a "tight ring" and the only
   thing for rebels left to do is surrender, said Andriy Lysenko, the
   Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesperson, on
   Sunday.

   Lysenko said the rebels announced late on Saturday that they were ready
   to agree to a cease-fire to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe."

   However, Lysenko said, "There has only been a statement" but no
   practical steps by the rebels to prove that they were ready for a
   cease-fire.

   Donetsk fighting

   Fighting raged around the Ukrainian city of Donetsk Sunday morning.

   In Kievsky district, 6 kilometers west of the city center, black smoke
   was rising above headquarters of Ukrainian telecommunication company
   "Ukrtelecom."

   A nearby apartment  block was damaged as well, with many windows
   shattered and balconies destroyed.

   Elsewhere, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Sunday Moscow
   was in talks with Kyiv, the International Committee of the Red Cross
   and the United Nations on sending humanitarian aid to eastern Ukraine.

   "We think it is a priority now to reach an agreement with the Ukrainian
   side, International Committee of the Red Cross and the international
   U.N. humanitarian agencies on the necessity to send emergency
   humanitarian aid to the (eastern Ukrainian provinces) of Luhansk and
   Donetsk," Lavrov told reporters.

   The rebel leader's motive for offering a cease-fire was not clear, but
   his comments could be aimed at increasing the pressure on Ukraine to
   allow in a Russian aid mission.

   Russia, which the Ukrainian government in Kyiv and Western countries
   allege is supporting the rebels, has called repeatedly for a
   humanitarian mission into eastern Ukraine.

   But Kiev and the West suggest that could be just a pretext to send
   Russian forces into the region - and say about 20,000 of them have
   gathered just across the border.

   Ukraine advances

   In an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, rebel spokeswoman
   Elena Nikitina denounced the government as "incapable of negotiating"
   and said talks on the conflict could only begin if the Ukrainian army
   withdrew from the region.

   That is unlikely, since the Ukrainian government has steadily retaken
   territory from the insurgents over the last few weeks, ousting them
   from smaller provincial cities and encircling Donetsk.

   Commanders said the army has been making steady gains and has virtually
   encircled the separatists' second-largest stronghold of Luhansk, while
   rebels have declared a "state of siege" in Donetsk, the largest city
   they hold.

   Kyiv security officials said separatist fighters were launching
   counter-attacks to break a tightening noose around the rebels who seek
   to set up pro-Russian 'people's republics' in the east of Ukraine.

   A storm of Donetsk by crack troops appears to have been ruled out:
   Ukraine has little or no expertise in such missions and it would risk
   heavy civilian casualties and army losses.

   A siege is the most likely option, with the possibility of an escape
   corridor for the separatist fighters in the hope they may flee to
   Russia.

   Shelling overnight

   Conditions were clearly deteriorating in Donetsk, the largest rebel
   stronghold in eastern Ukraine.

   AP reporters heard 25 loud explosions in as many minutes around noon on
   Sunday. More than 10 residential buildings, as well as a hospital and a
   shop, were heavily damaged by shelling overnight, and several buses
   caught in the crossfire were still burning Sunday morning.

   Donetsk city council spokesman Maxim Rovinsky told AP Saturday that
   over 2,000 residential buildings have been damaged by shelling.

   At least 300,000 of Donetsk's 1 million residents have fled as violence
   escalates between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian
   separatists, claiming the lives of over 1,300 people since April,
   according to the United Nations.

   Some information for this report provided by Reuters and AP.
     __________________________________________________________________

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References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/ukraine-demands-rebels-surrender-as-fighting-rages-in-donetsk/2408790.html