KIEV, Jan 24 (Reuters) – Fifteen people were killed in shelling in the east Ukrainian port city of Mariupol on Saturday, Ukraine’s interior ministry said, an attack Kiev blamed on separatist rebels and the Russian military.
A witness described the shelling to Reuters as enough to knock the paint off his house.
The deaths follow the separatists’ rejection of more peace talks and as fighting surged to its most intense in months. The United Nations said on Friday 262 had been killed in the previous nine days.
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On Friday Russian President Vladimir Putin blamed “criminal orders” by Ukrainian leaders on Friday for the surge in the conflict, which has killed over 5,000 people.
Ukraine says its troops are holding the line against the separatists after suffering a symbolic and morale-sapping setback last week when they withdrew from the main terminal at the airport in Donetsk, the biggest city in the east. (Additional reporting by Lina Kushch; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt)
