Shelling kills 1 in Donetsk as Russian aid convoy heads to Ukraine border

Artillery shells hit close to the centre of Ukraine's separatist-held city of Donetsk for the first time yesterday, killing at least one person, as a large Russian aid convoy rumbled towards the border.

With Ukrainian government forces tightening the noose on pro-Russian separatists, shelling rocked Donetsk, sending frightened residents rushing for cover, witnesses said.

It was not clear if the artillery was fired by government or rebel forces. Two shells landed 200 metres from the Park Inn Radisson, one of the city's main hotels, shattering windows.

The blasts opened up a yawning hole on the third floor of an apartment block and left a broad crater on the pavement.

Nearby, a body covered by a sheet lay stretched out on the blood-stained ground.

A huge Russian convoy carrying 2,000 tonnes of water, baby food and other humanitarian aid drove through southern Russia towards the frontier, while Kiev repeated it could not enter until Ukrainian authorities had cleared its cargo.