Two killed as shell hits bus in eastern Ukraine

Moscow, Nov 25 (IANS/EFE) At least two people were killed Tuesday and several others were wounded when an artillery shell hit a bus in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk under the control of the pro-Russian separatists, the rebel-appointed mayor of the city, Igor Martynov, said.

Martynov was quoted by a Russian news agency as saying the shell, apparently fired by the Ukrainian forces, hit the bus in the Kuibyshev district of the city.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military command said that the government forces had the situation under control in their positions in eastern Ukraine.

The command reported that over the past 24 hours the separatist militias carried out 36 attacks, violating the ceasefire agreement signed between the two sides in early September.

According to the command, the Ukrainian troops repelled a new attack Monday night on their positions at the Donetsk international airport.

Despite the ceasefire, the fighting continues in the suburbs of Donetsk, a city that had a population of around one million before the outbreak of the conflict between the government forces and the pro-Russians.

An estimated 4,317 people have died and 9,921 others have been wounded in the fighting, according to the latest report by the UN human rights mission in Ukraine.

--IANS/EFE

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