Ukraine Troops Clash With Rebels Despite Ceasefire Order

Ukraine's military waged new battles Saturday with pro-Moscow rebels who rejected Kiev's unilateral ceasefire, while the government raised alarm over the Kremlin's decision to put troops across Russia on combat alert. The resurgence of violence in the 11-week insurgency threatening to splinter the ex-Soviet nation came as Washington slapped sanctions on top separatist leaders and warned the Kremlin against sending forces into Ukraine. But Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared ready to continue sabre-rattling in the worst East-West standoff since the Cold War era by ordering units from the Volga to western Siberia to conduct snap military drills. "There is no ceasefire," a woman named Lila Ivanovna said just four kilometres (two miles) southwest of the battled-scarred rebel stronghold city of Slavyansk. "They were shooting last night and I heard mortar and machinegun fire at four this morning. Nothing has changed." Ukrainian border guards said the militia used sniper fire and grenade launchers to strike one of their bases in the eastern Donetsk region four hours after President Petro Poroshenko declared a unilateral halt to hostilities that have claimed more than 375 lives. "Three soldiers were injured -- one seriously -- and equipment damaged," the border guard service said in a statement. It added that Ukrainian troops had to return fire when the same militia unit mounted a second attack near a different Russian border crossing a few minutes later. A spokesman for Ukraine's "anti-terrorist operation" confirmed the fighting around Slavyansk while the defence ministry said one of its anti-aircraft bases was attacked by "50 men in camouflage". But the separatist leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic told Russia's RIA Novosti state news agency that Slavyansk had absorbed a heavy air and artillery assault from Ukrainian troops. Poroshenko declared the week-long unilateral ceasefire on Friday evening while stressing that it "does not mean that we will not fight back against aggression toward our troops." The order and simultaneous peace plan unveiled by the 48-year-old chocolate baron was branded an "ultimatum" by the Russian foreign ministry. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on a visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday that he was concerned that Kiev's military campaign had only "intensified". AFP