Pro-Russian officials in Donetsk say Ukrainian government forces have shelled towns and villages of the self-proclaimed eastern republic 33 times in the past 24 hours.
The regional defense ministry says several militiamen were killed and a number of others injured in the shelling. Heavy machine-gun and artillery fire could be heard in the past few days in some restive regions of the east. Pro-Russian militia forces have threatened to abandon last month's Minsk ceasefire agreement and resume fighting with the Ukrainian forces. The warning followed changes to a law granting self-rule to some eastern regions. The new law was approved by the Ukrainian parliament on Tuesday. The changes have drawn sharp criticism from Russia as well.