Conflict in Ukraine

Ukrainian forces withdrew from the main terminal at the Donetsk Airport in eastern Ukraine on Jan. 22 after a prolonged engagement with rebel forces that left six Ukrainian soldiers dead and 16 wounded. A rebel spokesperson put rebel casualties at 24 dead and 30 wounded.

Shelling in the rebel-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk on Jan. 22 may have killed as many as 16 civilians, including at least eight at a bus stop in Donetsk. Ukraine and the rebels blame each other for that shelling.

On Jan. 24, missiles fired by separatists in the Donetsk region struck a residential area in the city of Mariupol, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens more.

Ukraine has accused Russia of assisting the separatists and claimed that 9,000 Russian troops with armored vehicles had crossed the eastern border in January. Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula, internationally recognized as part of Ukraine, in March 2014. 

Ukraine has seen prolonged fighting between its military and ethnically Russian separatists in the eastern provinces since the ousting of former Ukrainian prime minister Viktor Yanukovytch in February 2014.

On Jan. 30, rebel fighters engaged the Ukrainian military in and around the eastern city of Debaltseve, with reports that the rebels had captured the nearby town of Vuhlehirsk. As of press time, casualty reports had not been issued.