Ukraine troops surround Donetsk, rebel leader says

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="cover-wrap " style="box-sizing: border-box; margin-bottom: 30px; text-align: center; width: 718px;"> <div class=""> <div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <figure class=" cover get-lbdata-from-dom go-to-slideshow-lightbox " data-id="87691b9f-5529-368a-82fc-57bd3df1f83e" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div> <a data-rapid_p="6" data-ylk="rspns:xpnd;t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:ld;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;grpt:;edtr_vos:;g:;aid:87691b9f-5529-368a-82fc-57bd3df1f83e;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/barricades-come-down-kiev-091621190.html#" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); outline: 0px; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img alt="A local woman stands on her damaged balcony after morning shelling in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, Saturday, Aug. 9, 2014. Several shells fell this morning in a northern Donetsk neighborhood, near the airport. No human casualties were registered. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)" class="inview" height="379px" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/UKd3XcJA_XRIQS2bibPnpQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTM3OTtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz02NzQ-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/4ee74b2d20e5491f5c0f6a706700b1ea.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translate3d(0px, 0px, 0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; max-width: 100%; min-height: 1px; opacity: 1 !important; text-align: left; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 718px;" width="674px" /></span></a></div> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-small" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px; border-top-left-radius: 7px; border-top-right-radius: 7px; cursor: pointer; height: 45px; 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padding-bottom: 56px; position: relative;"> <a data-rapid_p="10" data-ylk="rspns:xpnd;t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:ld;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:tl;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/barricades-come-down-kiev-091621190.html#" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: black;"><img class="inview" data-src-2x="" height="83.25" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/0nVENvLvOlX8CeYR_C0geA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTgzLjI1O3B5b2ZmPTA7cT03NTt3PTE0OA--/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/00457b5820db491f5c0f6a7067000373.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; height: auto; min-height: 1px; opacity: 1 !important; text-align: left; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important; width: 100px;" width="148" /></span></a></div> <span class="icon-white-slideshow-tiny icon-slideshow" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; bottom: 3px; cursor: pointer; height: 14px; left: 3px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: left; text-indent: 0px; width: 20px; z-index: 1;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">.</span></span></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div> <div class="body yom-art-content clearfix" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Article" style="margin-bottom: 15px; padding: 0px 10px; zoom: 1;"> <div class="yom-ad yom-ad-LREC" id="yom-ad-LREC" style="border: none; clear: both; float: right; height: 250px; margin: 0px 0px 1.1em 10px; max-height: 250px; text-align: center; visibility: inherit; width: 300px;"> <div class="darla" id="sb_rel_yom-ad-LREC-iframe" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline-block; height: 250px; position: relative; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 9;"> <iframe allowtransparency="true" async="" frameborder="no" hidefocus="true" id="yom-ad-LREC-iframe" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://l.yimg.com/rq/darla/2-8-1/html/r-sf.html" style="display: block; height: 250px; left: 0px; margin: 0px auto; max-height: none; max-width: none; min-height: 0px; position: absolute; text-align: left; top: 0px; visibility: inherit; width: 300px; z-index: 10;" tabindex="-1"></iframe></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have seized a key town and are surrounding Donetsk, the largest insurgent-held city in eastern Ukraine, a top rebel commander said Saturday.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The statement by Igor Girkin, a former Russian special services officer, appeared to be a significant admission by the rebels that Ukrainian government forces are gaining the upper hand in the four-month-old fight.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">He said the town of Krasnyi Luch, which lies on one of two main roads between Donetsk and the other rebel-held city of Luhansk, "has been taken by the enemy."</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"The Donetsk-Horlivka group of the fighters of Novorossiya is completely surrounded," he said on a rebel social media page. Novosrossiya, or "New Russia," is a term widely used by the rebels for the eastern area that seeks independence from the government in Kiev. Horlivka, where rebels and Ukrainian forces are also fighting, is 30 kilometers (20 miles) north of Donetsk.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seizing Krasnyi Luch would cut off many routes to other parts of the rebel-held east.</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="1" data-rapid_p="11" data-uuid="6fb0ac8d-6fe7-32b4-a772-ae8b430880ce" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:6fb0ac8d-6fe7-32b4-a772-ae8b430880ce;ct:4;cpos:1;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/communal-worker-removes-tree-cut-down-shell-morning-photo-093527409.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A communal worker removes a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="A communal worker removes a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="198" src="http://l3.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/Od0POWNaC.a7ezWBktj1oQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE5ODtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/9a69366420dc491f5c0f6a706700aea5.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A communal worker removes a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, eas …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A spokesman for the Ukrainian military operation, Andriy Lysenko, told reporters Saturday that he could not confirm that the town was under government control.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Donetsk, a city spokesman said at least one person was killed and several injured Saturday in shelling of the city's southern area. Spokesman Maxim Rovninsky also told The Associated Press that about 30 apartment blocks came under fire during the night.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The city, whose population was nearly 1 million before the fighting but has seen hundreds of thousands flee, has increasingly come under fire over the past weeks. Ukrainian officials deny that they are shelling civilians, as rebels claim, and say the rebels are putting rocket launchers in populated areas.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Explosions were also heard Saturday on the northern outskirts near Donetsk's airport.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Concerns are rising about a looming humanitarian catastrophe in Luhansk, where fighting has been heavier and more prolonged. A map released by the Ukrainian military shows Ukrainian forces near the outskirts of Luhansk on three sides, with an opening to other rebel-held territory only at the south.</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="2" data-rapid_p="12" data-uuid="b83ca709-14f0-3222-b279-a7c644a6448d" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:b83ca709-14f0-3222-b279-a7c644a6448d;ct:4;cpos:2;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/community-workers-remove-tree-cut-down-shell-morning-photo-093412252.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="Community workers remove a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="Community workers remove a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="180" src="http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/ON7Vg5DfXSz96hfjtEjWHg--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTE4MDtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/77683e8c20db491f5c0f6a706700e2e0.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Community workers remove a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, east …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Russian news agencies quoted Luhansk authorities as saying Saturday that the city has been without water and electricity for a week and most of its stores are closed.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Russia has been pushing for a humanitarian mission into Luhansk, but the Ukrainian government in Kiev and Western countries suspect that could be a pretext for sending in troops. Western countries say Russia has assembled some 20,000 troops just across the border.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The International Committee of the Red Cross said it is stepping up work to alleviate the crisis in eastern Ukraine but warned that any Red Cross aid convoy "will be taken in strict adherence to our fundamental working principles of neutrality, impartiality, and independence."</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Valeriy Chalyi, claimed Saturday that Russian forces wanted to enter Ukraine under the guise of a humanitarian mission but Ukraine had blocked the move.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the claim, saying "there was no attempt by Russian soldiers at penetration," according to Russian news agencies. But he reiterated Russia's call for humanitarian action, saying "this catastrophe now is the No. 1 theme for discussion."</span></div> <div class="body-related" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="3" data-rapid_p="13" data-uuid="bdee24fb-f970-3415-911f-2a86f4869f15" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:bdee24fb-f970-3415-911f-2a86f4869f15;ct:4;cpos:3;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/local-woman-walks-past-tree-cut-down-shell-photo-093347509.html" style="display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> <span class="icon-slideshow icon-white-slideshow-xsmall" style="background-image: url(data:image/svg+xml; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; background-size: cover; border-bottom-left-radius: 4px; border-bottom-right-radius: 4px; border-top-left-radius: 4px; border-top-right-radius: 4px; bottom: 5px; cursor: pointer; height: 23px; left: 5px; padding: 0px; position: absolute; text-indent: 0px; width: 32px; z-index: 1;"></span><img alt="A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down&nbsp;&hellip;" class="body-related-thumb inview" data-src-2x="" height="206" src="http://l1.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/haoZzUCrmOJg9d8OfNZmYA--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTIwNjtxPTc1O3c9MzAw/http://media.zenfs.com/en_us/News/ap_webfeeds/14087f1920db491f5c0f6a706700c5af.jpg" style="-webkit-transform: translateZ(0px); -webkit-transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; display: block; opacity: 1 !important; transition: opacity 0.3333s ease 0ms; vertical-align: baseline; visibility: visible !important;" width="300" /></div> </a><div class="body-related-title photo-caption" style="box-sizing: border-box; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 100%; padding: 5px 5px 0px 0px; position: relative; width: 300px;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">A local woman walks past a tree that was cut down by a shell after morning shelling in Donetsk, east …</span></div> </div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">In Kiev, city workers and volunteers on Saturday removed the last of the barricades that had blocked the capital's main street since anti-government protests began in November.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Protesters had erected the barricades to protect a sprawling tent camp on the city's main square. Although the camp's size dwindled sharply after pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February and a new government came to power, a determined core of demonstrators remained.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Some tents were still visible Saturday. But Kiev mayor Vitali Klitschko, one of the leaders of the protests against Yanukovych, was quoted by Ukrainian media as saying an agreement had been reached with the protest holdouts to restore free movement in the city.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Several Kiev protest tents caught on fire later in the day but it was not clear why.</span></div> <div style="margin-bottom: 1.1em;"> <span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Yanukovych's ouster precipitated the crisis in Ukraine's east, which was his support base. Fighting began in April, after Russian President Vladimir Putin annexed Ukraine's Russian-speaking Crimean Peninsula.</span></div> <div> <br /></div> <div class="body-related" style="background-color: white; clear: right; float: right; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', HelveticaNeue, helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15px; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 7.5px; margin-left: 7.5px; position: relative;"> <a class="body-related-link body-related-image go-to-slideshow-lightbox rapid-noclick-resp landscape onesize get-lbdata-from-dom" data-pos="4" data-rapid_p="14" data-uuid="5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345" data-ylk="t1:a3;t2:ct-mod;t3:embd;sec:ct-mod;slk:expand;elm:img;elmt:ct;itc:1;g:0508c77e-6981-3910-8dbe-41fe4580ac80;aid:5551af5c-4702-3c0a-91ab-8cc7adb2d345;ct:4;cpos:4;" href="http://news.yahoo.com/lightbox/local-resident-walks-past-tree-cut-down-shell-photo-093342437.html" style="color: #324fe1; display: block; margin: 0px auto; max-width: 300px; position: relative; text-decoration: none;" title="A local resident walks past a tree that was cut&nbsp;&hellip;"><div class="img-wrap" style="position: relative;"> </div> </a></div> </div> </div>

Ukraine troops surround Donetsk, rebel leader says

. . . . . DONETSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian forces have seized a key town and are surrounding Donetsk, the larg...

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