Kiev Launches Counter-Attack, Reclaims Donetsk Airport

There has been heavy fighting in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk as government forces have launched a counter-attack on the pro-Russian separatists.

Government spokesman said that the army has retaken most of the area surrounding the airport, which is of highly symbolic and strategic value, the BBC reports.

On Sunday Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko attended a rally in Kiev to commemorate the 13 civilians that were killed in the east when their bus came under rocket attack last week.

Locals in Donetsk said there has been heavy fighting around the city, including in residential areas, which has reportedly claimed the lives of several civilians.

Meanwhile, Russian spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow has been increasingly concerned with the renewed fighting, which breaches the Minsk ceasefire.

The ceasefire agreement has been violated repeatedly by both sides since it was negotiated in September 2014.