The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists blamed each other for an attack on a bus that killed 12 civilians in the east of the country, as clashes between the two sides continued to escalate.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said the attack was caused by a shell fired by the rebels, but also eluded to Russian responsibility for the attack, blaming "those who stand behind them -- those whose hand feeds them and arms them, drills them and inspires them to commit bloody crimes."
Further accusing Russia of responsibility for the attack, Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson Viktoria Kushnir told AFP that this type of system "only exists in the operational service of the Russian army. It is not operated by us."
Russia's foreign ministry's rights envoy responded angrily, with Konstantin Dolgov saying it was "another crime of the Kiev military". "We are outraged. This undermines all peace settlement efforts," said Dolgov.
The latest attack comes as Ukraine's parliament passed a resolution urging the international community to officially list the separatist groups as "terrorist organisations". The resolution also called for a continuation of sanctions against Russia for supporting "the terrorist organisation of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics".
Clashes between the Ukranian military and separatists in the east of the country continue to increase, with Ertugrul Apakan, head of the OSCE's special monitoring mission commenting, "over the past 24 hours the situation has significantly deteriorated, especially near the Donetsk airport."
Meanwhile, the United States Treasury announced a pledge of up to $2 billion in financial assistance for Ukraine, which faces massive debt repayments. The loan guarantee will be provided “if Ukraine continues making concrete progress on its reform agenda and if conditions warrant” said the US, with Ukraine needing to meed the conditions of a loan from the IMF.
Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko said the attack was caused by a shell fired by the rebels, but also eluded to Russian responsibility for the attack, blaming "those who stand behind them -- those whose hand feeds them and arms them, drills them and inspires them to commit bloody crimes."
Further accusing Russia of responsibility for the attack, Ukrainian defence ministry spokesperson Viktoria Kushnir told AFP that this type of system "only exists in the operational service of the Russian army. It is not operated by us."
Russia's foreign ministry's rights envoy responded angrily, with Konstantin Dolgov saying it was "another crime of the Kiev military". "We are outraged. This undermines all peace settlement efforts," said Dolgov.
The latest attack comes as Ukraine's parliament passed a resolution urging the international community to officially list the separatist groups as "terrorist organisations". The resolution also called for a continuation of sanctions against Russia for supporting "the terrorist organisation of the Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics".
Clashes between the Ukranian military and separatists in the east of the country continue to increase, with Ertugrul Apakan, head of the OSCE's special monitoring mission commenting, "over the past 24 hours the situation has significantly deteriorated, especially near the Donetsk airport."
Meanwhile, the United States Treasury announced a pledge of up to $2 billion in financial assistance for Ukraine, which faces massive debt repayments. The loan guarantee will be provided “if Ukraine continues making concrete progress on its reform agenda and if conditions warrant” said the US, with Ukraine needing to meed the conditions of a loan from the IMF.