ARTEMIVSK, Ukraine — A battle for a railroad town in eastern Ukraine escalated sharply Tuesday, with both the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed militants saying that their soldiers were engaging in pitched street battles.
Rebels reportedly have sent text messages to phones in the town, telling the soldiers there that they have been abandoned by their command and should surrender.
The Ukrainian government maintains that the town was not surrounded before the cease-fire took effect, and that European monitors of the truce should insist that the separatist forces halt their offensive and open a corridor to evacuate the wounded.
The main rebel group, the …read more
Source: San Francisco Chronicle
