KIEV: Ukraine has launched a full-scale military operation against pro-Russia separatists in the east, hours after a ceasefire ended between the two sides.
The government officials said that bases and strongholds of the rebels are under attack from aircraft and artillery.
“Starting this morning the active phase of the antiterrorist operation has resumed. Our forces are conducting strikes,” the Ukrainian parliament speaker Aleksandr Turchinov announced.
Meanwhile, Russia demanded that Kiev stop the military attacks on cities and announce a new ceasefire.
Earlier, the Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced an end to a unilateral 10-day ceasefire with pro-Russian separatists in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, saying the chance for peace was lost because of the criminal activities of the militants.