Heavy fighting threatens Ukraine ceasefire

Both sides were already accusing each other on Saturday of breaching the truce within hours of its signing in the Belarussian capital Minsk.

And pro-Russian separatists opposed to Kiev’s rule still insist they will not give up their ambitions for an independent state in the industrial east.

“We want our own president, our own currency and our own banking system,” a pro-Russian guerrilla named Oleg told AFP in the Donetsk region town of Yasynuvata.

“This is the only way. There is no other alternative.”

Western leaders accuse Russia of actively fomenting the rebellion by funnelling large numbers of troops and heavy weaponry across the border — claims which Moscow has repeatedly denied.

Despite the ceasefire, the US and the EU agreed to beef up sanctions against Russia, and NATO approved a rapid reaction force aimed at reassuring jittery Eastern European states.

Russia warned it would respond if the EU imposes more sanctions, accusing Brussels of supporting the “party of war” in Kiev.