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A group of investigative journalists who specialise in image analysis say they have proved a series of key artillery strikes on Ukrainian forces in summer 2014 came from inside Russia. We focus on two attacks to show how the Bellingcat team examined satellite imagery and social media videos to support their theory
either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter
or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources
Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content
SLAVIANSK/LUHANSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Pro-Russian separatists poured scorn on peace overtures from Ukraine's new president Petro Poroshenko on Saturday as fighting rumbled on in the east of the country
Poroshenko appealed to the rebels to lay down their arms
offering peaceful dialogue and immunity from prosecution to "those who don't have blood on their hands"
But rebel spokesmen in the self-styled Donetsk People's Republic
which has declared independence from Ukraine and wants to unite with neighboring Russia
"What they really want is one-sided disarmament and for us to surrender
That will never happen," said a top separatist official
"As long as Ukrainian troops are on our soil
I can see that all Poroshenko wants is subjugation," he said by telephone from Donetsk
government forces have stepped up what they call an 'anti-terrorist' campaign against the Russian-speaking separatists in the east
On Friday they shot down a Ukrainian army plane and killed a member of the interior ministry's special forces in the separatist stronghold of Slaviansk
Fighting continued around Slaviansk on Saturday and smoke could be seen rising above the surrounding forests
Ukrainian armored personnel carriers and military transport vehicles lined the road leading into the city
and soldiers behind concrete blocks and sand bags trained their machine guns on cars and buses driving out
was leaving by foot with her mother and grandmother
We've been hiding in the cellar for three days and we finally decided to leave
There is no water or electricity," she said
Poroshenko said the government was prepared to talk to peaceful citizens - "clearly not with gunmen and other scoundrels" - and would offer a safe corridor for fighters who had crossed the border from Russia to go home
But his appeal appeared to fall on deaf ears
"We have reached the point of no return," said Andrei Sukhanov
commander of the separatist Kaskad (Cascade) militia
While the government tightens its grip around Slaviansk
it appears to be losing ground in its easternmost region of Luhansk
where border guards have fled several bases after coming under attack
Some 200 people protested against the presidential inauguration in the center of the city
some laying flowers on the sun-baked sidewalk in memory of eight people killed on Monday
Residents say they died in an air strike from a Ukrainian plane which blew a hole in the regional administration building
Broken glass and plaster crunched under the feet of the demonstrators
"Our government is doing America's bidding
we appeal to you to stop this - do you really want bloodshed?" shouted a red-haired woman to applause
Frightened by the air-raid warning sirens that ring out over the city at night
"I came to take a quick look before leaving," Grib said
who works as a medic in a charity for the homeless
Why should we leave?" the 75-year-old demanded
governor of the self-proclaimed "Luhansk People's Republic"
was emphatic in his rejection of Poroshenko and Ukrainian rule
"The Ukrainians have made their choice and they must live with it
we have no diplomatic relations with Ukraine," he told journalists
wearing combat fatigues in a conference room hung with crystal chandeliers
"Today Ukraine got a new president and now the blood of our people and of Ukrainians will lie on his conscience."
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