Photo by Reuters shows Ukrainian flag still on top of Donetsk airport for which fighting rages in East Ukraine [hr]
At 7am Kyiv time on October 6 One Plus One TV described the hottest spots in the east. These are the outskirts of Mariupol, which the terrorists bombarded from tanks yesterday evening, and Donetsk airport, it said.
Fighters of the pro-Russian self-proclaimed ‘Donetsk people’s republic’ are again reporting that they have occupied the territory of the airport. But Ukrainian forces say that they still hold the airport.
Correspondent Svitlana Fedchun from Donetsk said: “Residents of Donetsk are reporting that it was impossible to sleep due to salvos from heavy weapons. In the morning, explosions and gunfire were again heard from the territory of the airport. The leader of the gang that is bombarding the positions of Ukrainian paratroopers at the airport insists that they have already conquered the ground-level part of the airport. But the Ukrainian forces say that underground shelters allow them to completely control the situation on the surface.”
It showed a pro-Russia figther called Givi say: “We asked them just to leave. We offered them a safe corridor for them to leave. They didn’t agree. I heard that they want us to give them six towns in exchange for the airport. I don’t know why we have to surrender our towns if the airport is already completely under our control.”
The report added that residents of the Hladkivka micro-district in Donetsk are still in shock after it was bombarded yesterday evening by terrorists using Uragan multiple launch rocket systems. Many houses were ruined. Several caught fire after the bombardment. Two civilians were killed and eight were seriously wounded.
A video purporting to show damage in Hladkivka caused by bombardment with Uragan mulitple-launch rocket systems on 5 October has been posted on YouTube:
An unnamed local man said: “They flew in and struck. That’s all. They were aluminium – cluster munitions, most likely. The tails are lying around. Where from? Nobody heard the launch. When we hear the launch, we hide in the cellar. This was simply instantaneous.”
The report also said there is alarming information from the southern front: “Late yesterday evening those fighters who mobilized their forces there last week started to fire. They were firing from tanks in the direction of Mariupol. The results are still not known”.
Vyacheslav Seleznyov, a spokesman of Ukraine’s anti-terrorist operation” said: “At the delimitation line between the sides near the village of Oktyabr near Mariupol, tanks are conducting continuous combat fire. There is currently no information from the militant-controlled territory. Whether this is a show of force or an organizational training exercise for tank crews is being ascertained.”
The correspondent then confirmed that observers from France and Germany will be joining the OSCE monitoring group that observes the ceasefire in Donbas. They reportedly said they are interested in the quickest end to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
