Artillery attack threatens ceasefire in eastern Ukraine’s Mariupol
- 10 years ago
Flames burn near the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine. Government forces here have come under fire.
This latest round of shelling comes only about thirty hours after Russia and Ukraine had declared a ceasefire, which was part of a plan to end a five-month-old conflict.
Despite the fires that burn into the night, both Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed that "overall the ceasefire was being implemented."
Many here remain doubtful whether that can last.
They say the shelling was intense.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING:
"It was artillery shooting, howitzers."
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ANOTHER UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING:
"I don't know whether it was howitzers or not, but it was a hell of a shelling."
Days before the ceasefire, forces from Kiev had been trying to fight off a rebel offensive targeting the city, which is a strategic port for steel exports from Ukraine.
This latest round of shelling comes only about thirty hours after Russia and Ukraine had declared a ceasefire, which was part of a plan to end a five-month-old conflict.
Despite the fires that burn into the night, both Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin have agreed that "overall the ceasefire was being implemented."
Many here remain doubtful whether that can last.
They say the shelling was intense.
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING:
"It was artillery shooting, howitzers."
(SOUNDBITE) (Russian) ANOTHER UNIDENTIFIED MAN SAYING:
"I don't know whether it was howitzers or not, but it was a hell of a shelling."
Days before the ceasefire, forces from Kiev had been trying to fight off a rebel offensive targeting the city, which is a strategic port for steel exports from Ukraine.