Heavy firing near Ukraine's south-eastern strategic port Mariupol and its largest city Donetsk overnight, has threated a fragile ceasefire between government forces and pro-Russian seperatists
The ceasefire, brokered by envoys from Ukraine, the separatist leadership, Russia and Europe's OSCE security watchdog on Friday in Minsk, is part of a peace plan intended to end a five-month conflict that has killed nearly 3,000 people.
The renewed shelling broke out hours after Russia's President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko had agreed in a telephone call the truce was holding and had discussed ways of getting in humanitarian aid, reported Reuters.
Both sides blamed the other for the violations to ceasefire. There was no immediate word on casualties.
A Reuters witness heard prolonged shelling in an area north of Donetsk and saw plumes of black smoke filling the sky on Sunday morning.
The shelling came from near the airport, which has been in the hands of Ukrainian government forces though pro-Russian rebels control the city. Rebels told Reuters the airport itself was now empty and the fighting was centered on a nearby military compound.
"Listen to the sound of the ceasefire," joked one armed rebel. "There's a proper battle going on there."
Overnight the port of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov, to the south of Donetsk, also saw a serious violation of the ceasefire when government forces came under artillery fire.
