A member of the armed forces of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic looks on near a building destroyed during battles with the Ukrainian armed forces in the town of Vuhlehirsk in Donetsk.
Pro-Russian rebels appeared to be in full control on Wednesday of the town that has been a principal target of their advance, as they attempt to surround a nearby garrison of Ukrainian forces.
4 Feb 2015 . Vuhlehirsk, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
The apparent fall of Vuhlehirsk would be a setback for Kiev, which has been trying to defend it and the larger neighbouring town of Debaltseve, an important rail hub, from encirclement by advancing rebels.
In Vuhlehirsk, shattered from the combat, the covered body of a member of the armed forces of the separatists, who was killed in battle with the Ukrainian armed forces, lies on the street.
4 Feb 2015 . Vuhlehirsk, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
The town, with around 9,000 people before the war, has been one of the main targets of the rebel advance, sitting in a pocket of government-held territory surrounded on three sides by rebel territory and straddling road and rail routes linking major rebel strongholds.
The rebels, some gathered above near a burnt armoured vehicle, say they had no choice but to advance, to make the cities they control more secure and push back government artillery which had been killing civilians.
1 Feb 2015 . Donetsk, Ukraine. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
Pro-Russian separatists ride on a tank in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, February 1, 2015.
Ukraine says its military is outgunned by the heavy weaponry rebels have received from Russia. But the prospect of new arms arriving from the United States raises the risk of escalating the war.
5 Feb 2015 . DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Fighting in a war which has already killed more than 5,000 people has reached an intensity unseen since before a ceasefire in September. An attempt to revive peace talks collapsed on Saturday.
Ukrainian forces are still holed up in neighbouring Debaltseve, a major rail town of about three times the size and an important stopping point for goods traffic by rail from Russia. Taking the two would link up the main rebel strongholds of Luhansk and Donetsk.
6 Feb 2015 . DEBALTSEVE, Ukraine. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Convoys of buses carrying many local residents to safety left the besieged town of Debaltseve in eastern Ukraine on Friday as government forces kept up artillery fire to defend their positions against pro-Russian separatists.
Hundreds of civilians were waiting, on a frosty day, to board and leave the town either to Ukrainian or rebel-held territory. An estimated 3,000 people still remained in the town which had a population of around 25,000 before the conflict, a Ukrainian government official said.