Russian Tanks Flatten Ukrainian Town, Ukraine Military Says

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7. Pro-Ukraine fighters escape encirclement, others still trapped - Kiev, militia

KIEV, Aug 30 (Reuters) - A group of pro-Ukrainian fighters broke out of encirclement by Russian-backed separatists near the eastern city of Donetsk early on Saturday, Ukraine's interior minister said, but other reports suggested many were still trapped.

Fighting has intensified in areas near the small town of Ilovaysk and further south along the Sea of Azov coast where separatists are now threatening the port city of Mariupol.

Kiev and Western countries say the reversal is the result of the arrival of armoured columns of Russian troops, sent by Russian President Vladimir Putin to prop up the five-month-old separatist revolt in eastern Ukraine which had been near collapse.

A senior U.N. human rights official said on Friday nearly 2,600 civilians, Ukrainian government forces and rebels have been killed in a conflict which has led to the biggest Russia-West crisis since the Cold War.

http://www.trust.org/item/20140830100821-n43s1/