Russia’s double game – artillery attack on Mariupol even as ceasefire is on

The latest round of ceasefire in Ukraine appears to be in jeopardy because, just over a day after it was declared, shelling has been reported near the southeastern port city of Mariupol foxnews.com. This port has been the focus of an offensive by pro-Russian separatists in recent days and has reversed the gains of Ukrainian government forces. These forces had encircled the major rebel-held strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Witnesses have informed about hearing explosions in the eastern part of the city and also of a truck, a gas station, and an industrial facility on fire within the city limits. Moreover, witnesses have seen trucks carrying pro-Kiev militia volunteers, as well as tanks and armored personnel carriers racing in the direction of the eastern part of the city.
A Ukrainian officer has admitted that there has been an artillery attack but there was no details about casualties. The Interior Minister of Ukraine, Arsen Avakov, had accused Russia of violating the cease-fire – as per him, rockets had been fired at Ukrainian positions 16 times from Russian territory.
The ceasefire deal had been signed in the Belarusian capital of Minsk by Ukraine, Russia and the Kremlin-backed separatists. This was an effort to bring to an end more than four months of fighting in the region. The negotiators have, apparently, agreed on the withdrawal of all heavy weaponry, the release of all prisoners and the delivery of humanitarian aid to devastated cities in eastern Ukraine.
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10 Russian soldiers caught in Donetsk - Russia says: they must have crossed the border by mistake

Russia is continuing to insist that it has not sent any military into Ukraine but the fact remains that ten Russian soldiers were found in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine and have been detained edition.cnn.com. The country's Security Service has confirmed this even as tensions simmered over the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian rebels.
These 10 Russian soldiers were captured with documents and weapons on them and this automatically shows that Russia is not making correct statements – it has repeatedly denied claims by Kiev that it has sent troops and weapons over the border into Ukraine, where the Ukrainian military is fighting pro-Russian rebels.
The explanation offered by Russia's state-run RIA Novosti news agency quoting a source in the Russian Defense Ministry is that the soldiers had been patrolling the border and must have crossed the border by accident at an unmarked point.
This latest development comes as Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, meet for the first time since June in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, for trade talks related to the Eurasian Customs Union. This is a trade bloc made up of Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Senior European Union officials, headed by EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton, are also present in Minsk for the summit.
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