Intense battles continue in eastern Ukraine
Intense fighting continued on Thursday in eastern Ukraine, a day after separatists fighting the Kiev government claimed credit for shooting down two warplanes near where a passenger airliner crashed last week after being struck by a missile, The Washington Post reported.
Artillery explosions could be heard around Donetsk on Thursday, and the most intense fighting appeared to be coming from a contested area near the city’s airport. The fighting came as Australia’s leader said Thursday that he was readying a policing team of 50 officers who he hopes will join an eventual United Nations mission to secure the site, which is 40 miles to the east of Donetsk.
The attack on the warplanes came just six days after the Malaysia Airlines disaster, which has drawn international outrage and showcased the advanced firepower that apparently is available on the ground in the region. The Ukrainian military said Wednesday that the two planes were flying at nearly 17,000 feet — an altitude that is out of the reach of the shoulder-fired missiles that the rebels said they had used to down the jets. Neither the government’s nor the rebels’ claims could be verified.