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Ukraine Suffers ‘Worst Shelling in Six Months’ as Violence Escalates

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Separatist insurgents staged assaults on Ukrainian villages on Monday, reports Reuters. State officials say the attacks featured the heaviest shelling in the region since February.

The Ukrainian military reported that their troops repelled tanks and around 200 rebel soldiers at the village of Novolaspa and a “battalion”-strength force with tanks and armored vehicles in nearby Starohnativka. Both locations are about 30 miles south of Donetsk, which the separatists declared as their capital early last year.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the situation “a dangerous indication” of imminent conflict, AFP said. The attacks are the latest in recent allegations that separatist forces have breached the truce signed in Minsk in February.

On Sunday, four tanks belonging to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe were set ablaze in Donetsk. Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk attributed the act to “unlawful armed groups.”

The insurgents have denied attacking Ukrainian troops and framed the country’s military as the aggressors, claiming Kiev is eager to reclaim the territories that declared their autonomy last April.

Over 6,500 people have been killed since the conflict between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk escalated in early 2014. The conflict has also strained the West’s relations with Moscow, which many accuse of backing the rebel forces.

Beneath the Front Lines of the War in Eastern Ukraine

Donbass coal miners
Miners at the Chelyuskintsev coal mine ride in an elevator toward ground level. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Two miners wait for an elevator that will take them to the bottom of the deepest shaft. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 28, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A group of miners wait for a cable car while evacuating the mine's deepest shaft. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A miner works in a very hot part of the deepest shaft. Minutes later, he was told to evacuate. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Working by the light of an emergency generator, the mine’s deputy director begins evacuation preparations after being told that a Ukrainian army shell had damaged the mine’s power supply and ventilation system. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
The control panel for the cable car at the 500-meter level, seen during the evacuation process. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
The mine's deputy director while evacuating the deepest shaft. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A group of miners on the way to the cable car during the evacuation. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A main gallery supported by wooden beams at the bottom of the mine's deepest shaft. An hour after this picture, the miners would have to evacuate. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 22, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Miners repair electric wires that were damaged on Nov. 22 when a shell said to belong to the Ukrainian army hit a shed adjacent to the entrance to the mine's deepest shaft. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 28, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A woman working on the coal conveyer belt in the storage area of the mine complex. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Two miners get changed before starting a shift. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A miner changes into his work clothes before going down into the mine for a shift. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
UKRAINE. Donetsk. December 1, 2014.Kalynina coal mine. Miners coming up after work from the bottom of the mine.
Miners pick up their security equipment (light and oxygen mask) before going down into a shaft at the Kalinina coal mine. Donetsk, Ukraine. Dec. 1, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A miner gestures to a supervisor at a storage area for coal situated at the back of the Chelyuskintsev mine complex. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Miners coming up from the bottom of the Kalinina coal mine walk toward the changing room after a shift. Donetsk, Ukraine. Dec. 1, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
Miners on a bus going to the deepest shaft of the Chelyuskintsev coal mine, 8 kilometers away from the main complex. A shell landed 10 meters from the bus on the way, but they continued to the entrance of the shaft. Upon arrival, they learned that the power had not yet been restored after the shelling two days earlier. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A miner outside the bus when it arrived to the deepest shaft of the Chelyuskintsev coal mine, minutes before being told the power had not been restored. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A view from the bus as it approaches the entrance to the mine's deepest shaft. On the left is the shed that was hit by a shell two days earlier. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A miner peers out of the bus, seconds after a shell landed 10 meters away, while traveling to the entrance to the mine's deepest shaft. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 24, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass coal miners
A man stands at a bus stop near the Chelyuskintsev coal mine. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 28, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A woman and two men smoke cigarettes outside a World War II-era bomb shelter near the Trudovsky coal mine. About 40 to 50 people live in the shelter, the majority of whom are miner families. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 19, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A woman outside an entrance to a bomb shelter near a coal mine. She was making a phone call and smoking a cigarette. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 19, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
A young boy rests on a bed in a World War II-era bomb shelter, with pictures of Soviet aircraft close to the ceiling, near a coal mine. Petrovskyi district, Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 19, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos
Donbass Coal Miners
An elderly woman living in a bomb shelter in the Kievsky neighborhood near the embattled airport. Donetsk, Ukraine. Nov. 20, 2014.Jerome Sessini—Magnum Photos

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