Donetsk - Civilians queuing for aid handouts in Ukraine's rebel stronghold of Donetsk on Friday became the five latest casualties of a conflict which makes daily life a gamble, for those who haven't already fled.

Kiev - Twelve people, including seven civilians, were killed in the past 24 hours in clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels in east Ukraine, officials said Friday.

Kiev - Pro-Russian separatists vowed on Friday to push their latest offensive in eastern Ukraine further if truce talks with Kiev's pro-Western leaders fail as the bitter conflict killed another 19 civilians.

Verbovka - Wheeling suitcases and hauling bags, residents of Svitlodarsk peered into a bus departing from this heavily shelled east Ukrainian town. "Is there still room?" one woman asked, anxious to send her teenage son to safety.

Kiev - Ukraine President Petro Poroshenko appealed to Russia's Vladimir Putin while Washington threatened tougher measures should Moscow fail to rein in separatists mounting a new offensive in the east of the ex-Soviet republic.

Kiev - U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Wednesday that Washington was ready to increase sanctions on Russia over its actions in war-torn Ukraine.

Donetsk - Nearly 500 coal miners in Ukraine's war-torn east were briefly trapped underground on Monday after their pit lost power when a shell hit an electricity substation.

Kiev - 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.

Mariupol - Outside the church a day after a barrage of rocket fire killed 30 people in this Ukrainian port city, the war-torn region's divisions were on full display.

Kiev - Tension is again mounting in Ukraine after a weekend rocket assault on the strategic government-held port city of Mariupol that left 30 dead and 95 injured, as separatists threatened a new offensive.

Kiev - The UN Security Council will hold a special meeting Monday on the violence in eastern Ukraine after a rocket barrage blamed on Kremlin-backed rebels killed 30 and threatened to open up a new front in the war.

Mariupol - World leaders on Sunday ramped up pressure on Moscow to stop pro-Kremlin rebels from pursuing a major new Ukrainian offensive after rockets killed 30 people in a strategic government-held port.

Mariupol - Pro-Kremlin rebels in eastern Ukraine announced a major new offensive after heavy rocket fire killed at least 30 people in the government-held port of Mariupol, sparking international calls for Moscow to stop backing the separatists.

Kiev - Heavy rockets that killed at least 30 people on Saturday in Ukraine's government-held port of Mariupol were fired from territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels, international monitors said.

Kiev - A top pro-Russian rebel on Saturday announced the launch of a major offensive on Ukraine's government-held port of Mariupol, confirming responsibility for rocket fire that killed at least 20 people.

Mariupol - Pro-Kremlin rebels announced a major new offensive on Saturday after Grad rocket fire killed at least 30 people in a strategic government-held Ukrainian port linking separatist territory with Russian-occupied Crimea.

Donetsk - Pro-Russian rebels on Friday vowed to conquer more territory in eastern Ukraine and ruled out peace talks after Kiev retreated from a long-disputed airport, casting aside Europe's latest push for a truce.

Kiev - Ukraine's military on Thursday said days of unceasing artillery strikes by pro-Russian insurgents had forced its soldiers to abandon a shattered airport that had become the symbolic prize of the nine-month war.

Donetsk - Captured Ukrainian soldiers were paraded through the rebel-held city of Donetsk on Thursday and forced to kneel before angry locals who spat and pelted them with snowballs and shards of glass.

Kiev - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Thursday that pro-Russian rebels had paid a "high price" for their escalating attacks on government forces across the separatist east.