DONETSK, Ukraine
At least six civilians have been killed in shelling in Donetsk as the Ukrainian army closed in on the separatist stronghold in eastern Ukraine.
Another three people, including a child, were injured when a shell fell on Budyonnovsk neighborhood on Thursday, an Anadolu Agency correspondent reported.
After 10 hours of shelling many residents are trying to escape the city. An 11pm curfew has turned the once attractive city into a ghost town, with the population falling from 1.2 million to around 200,000.
Meanwhile, separatists have claimed the Ukrainian army targeted the districts of Voroshilovskiy and Kievskiy in Donetsk with tank and artillery fire.
Unrest in eastern Ukraine has torn the region apart since April, when Kiev began operations against armed separatists.
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