Ukrainian government forces battled separatists with artillery and automatic weapons on Wednesday as fighting continued for a second day in and around the eastern town of Slaviansk, forcing many residents to flee, according to The Associated Press.
The Kiev government tried to break rebellions by pro-Russia militias due to fears it could lead to dismemberment of the country as more than 300 rebels had been killed in the past 24 hours in the "anti-terrorist operation" centred on the town, a strategically located separatist stronghold, the AP reported.
Rebels denied this and said losses by the Ukrainian side during a government offensive which began on Tuesday exceeded theirs, according to the AP.
A spokesman for government forces, Vladyslav Seleznyov, said two servicemen had been killed and 45 wounded in "heavy" fighting since the government launched its offensive near Slaviansk, using aircraft, helicopters and artillery, the AP reported.
Separatists, who have controlled the town since early in April, denied the government's casualty figures and claimed to have shot down an army helicopter - something denied by Kiev, according to the AP.
"Reports of 300 dead are not true. Losses to the Ukrainian side were more than ours," Aleksander Boroday, "prime minister" of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency, the AP reported.
President-elect Petro Poroshenko ordered the resumption of operations by government forces to quell the rebellion by pro-Russian militia in the Russian-speaking east soon after scoring a resounding victory in an election on May 25, according to the AP.
The pro-Western Poroshenko said on Wednesday in Warsaw that he would unveil a plan for a "peaceful resolution" of the situation in the east after his inauguration next Saturday, the AP reported.
The Kiev government says the fighting is being stirred up by Moscow, which opposes its pro-Western course, according to the AP. Kiev also accuses Russia of letting volunteer fighters cross into Ukraine to fight alongside the rebels.
