Ukraine demands that rebels surrender

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 relent only when the separatists surrender. Donetsk remained a ghost town Sunday, with few civilians daring to venture outside as explosions rang out every few minutes and burnt-out buses and buildings smoldered from the night before.

In a statement Saturday, newly elected rebel leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko appeared to call for a cease-fire without stating any preconditions. But on Sunday, rebel spokeswoman Elena Nikitina repeated the rebels’ earlier stance, telling The Associated Press that talks on the conflict could only begin if the Ukrainian army withdrew from the region — something Kiev is unlikely to do.

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