Ukraine rebel offensive marks dangerous new stage in conflict
Homes, market and school in government-held Mariupol hit as rebels announce new offensive
A major offensive in eastern Ukraine by rebels allegedly backed by Russia has marked a dangerous new stage in the nine-month conflict and dashed hopes for a truce, pressuring Western nations to act.
A deadly rocket attack on the port city of Mariupol on Saturday highlighted a week-long rebel advance that has seen the separatists take the long-disputed Donetsk airport and pledge to conquer more territory.
Rebels did not claim responsibility for the Grad and Uragan rockets that killed 30 people, but monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said they were fired from the direction of separatist-held areas.
Mariupol is the last major city in the country’s two separatist provinces that is still controlled by Kiev, and rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko announced shortly after the rocket strikes that the insurgents were launching an offensive aimed at taking it.
On Friday, he had ruled out peace talks and vowed to advance to the western border of the Donetsk region, a major industrial hub where rebels already control swathes of territory.
“Now we have a very interesting marker coming up,” said Paul Quinn-Judge of the International Crisis Group think tank in Brussels. “Will the Russians rein them in? Obviously, you’ve got clear signs of either (they will or they won’t) right now.”
