A gunman walks by thirty coffins prepared for the funerals of pro-Russian rebels killed during heavy fighting at Donetsk airport on May 26, outside a Donetsk morgue
A gunman walks by thirty coffins prepared for the funerals of pro-Russian rebels killed during heavy fighting at Donetsk airport on May 26, outside a Donetsk morgue May 29, 2014. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis

Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists were involved in severe fighting on Sunday, August 3. The fighting took place on Donetsk outskirts as Ukrainian forces tried to advance further to take control of the region known for being controlled by the rebels.

Ukraine Troops Cross into Russia

Ukrainian shelling killed six people during the weekend, according to Reuters. The firing also set buildings ablaze while some of the shelling fell in fields of sunflower. Three more civilians got killed while the Ukrainian army kept on making progress to take control of the region. The fight between the rebels and Ukrainian forces got more intense after the Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 had shot down on July 17.

According to the U.S. government, pro-Russian separatists shot the Boeing 777 down, though by mistake. It was Russia that supplied the rebels with the missile which was used to shoot the plane down, U.S. claimed. Vladimir Putin's government, on the contrary, never accepted to have any involvement in the shoot-down which eventually killed 298 people on-board. The passengers were mostly Dutch while there were also 43 from Malaysia and 27 from Australia.

The separatists confiscated food and vehicles from businesses and residents in Donetsk. Most restaurants and stores in the city are closed while the entire area is mostly deserted. Ukrainian military spokesman Alexei Dmitrashkovsky earlier said that their forces met resistance even though they were able to hold positions.

Pavel Gubarev, on the other hand, said that the rebels would win immediately if Russia helped them with "strong artillery units" and "tank brigades." "Of course it would be great to see Russian peacekeepers here: strong artillery units, tank brigades," Gubarev - who is the self-proclaimed governor of the region - said, "This war would be over in a day, maybe two." Gubarev might have indicated that Russia did not help the separatists yet but the West claimed that it had enough evidence that Russia was constantly backing the rebels with arms.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian has reportedly recaptured 75 per cent of the Donetsk territory so far.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au