Pro-Russian fighters in Ukraine’s east have called for an immediate ceasefire to avert a humanitarian disaster, after reports that the Ukrainian army had recaptured a key city from the rebels, reported Reuters.
Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk people's republic, made the call in a statement published on the rebel website.
"We are ready for a ceasefire to prevent the proliferation of a humanitarian disaster in Donbass," he said.
Russia renewed its offer to send a humanitarian mission, after the US warned Moscow on Friday not to use such mission as a pretext to send troops to support the rebels.
The US said that during a call on Saturday, U.S. President Barack Obama and German Chancellor Angela Merkel "agreed that any Russian intervention in Ukraine, even under purported 'humanitarian' auspices, without the formal, express consent and authorisation of the government of Ukraine is unacceptable, violates international law, and will provoke additional consequences."
The city of Krasnyi Luch was reported to have been captured by Ukrainian troops on Saturday, with the rebel-held Donetsk completely surrounded by the army.