Ukraine demands surrender of rebels

Donetsk deserted as thousands flee separatists’ last stronghold

Pro-Russia rebels on a tank drive Sunday on a road in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. Fighting raged Sunday in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk despite a request from the pro-Russian rebels there for a cease-fire to prevent a "humanitarian catastrophe." One person was killed and 10 injured in shelling that started early Sunday morning and continued into the day, city council spokesman Maxim Rovinsky told the Associated Press.

DONETSK, Ukraine — Fighting raged in the city of Donetsk on Sunday as government forces continued to close in on the rebel stronghold and pro-Russia insurgents backed away from an unconditional cease-fire offer that they announced just the day before.

With a string of military successes and broad support for its campaign from the West and most of its domestic base, Kiev has taken a hard line against the rebel forces and promised it will only relent when the separatists surrender.

Donetsk remained a ghost town on Sunday, with few civilians venturing outside as explosions rang out every few minutes and burned-out buses and buildings smoldered from the night before.

New rebel leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko on Saturday appeared to call for a cease-fire without stating any preconditions.

But on Sunday, rebel spokesman Elena Nikitina repeated the rebels’ earlier stance, telling the Associated Press that talks on the conflict could only begin if the Ukrainian army withdrew — something Kiev is unlikely to do.

She also denounced the government as “incapable of negotiating.”

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the only way for the rebels in Donetsk to save their lives would be to “lay down their arms and give up.”

He said the Ukrainian side hadn’t seen the rebels show any willingness to cooperate.

“If white flags come up and they lay down their arms, nobody is going to shoot at them,” he said. “We have not seen any practical steps yet, just a statement.”

Mr. Lysenko added that the Ukrainian military’s recent successes in encircling Donetsk had bred “panic and chaos in the ranks of the rebels,” and said the Kiev government had information about rebels “deserting their posts en masse.”

Conditions deteriorated in Donetsk, the largest rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine. Associated Press reporters heard 25 loud explosions in as many minutes around noon.

City council spokesman Maxim Rovinsky believed that 100,000 people had left the city of 1 million in the past week alone — adding to the 300,000 who were already estimated to have fled.

He said at least 10,000 people were without electricity and that the local government was working hard to “avoid a humanitarian crisis.”

The United Nations estimated more than 1,300 people have died in the conflict since April.

Rebel leader Zakharchenko’s apparent call for a cease-fire Saturday was met with support from Russia, where Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was quoted by news agency ITAR TASS as saying a truce was “not only possible, but necessary.”