Donetsk assault kills dozens

Ukraine yesterday said it had recaptured the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk after a day of air strikes and fierce gun battles with pro-Moscow separatist militants that left dozens of people dead.
Caught up in the drama in Donetsk were a team of international monitors with the OSCE who have gone missing after being detained at a checkpoint.
As fear gripped the city's streets, Russian President Vladimir Putin called on Ukraine to end its "punitive" operation in the rebel-held east and for talks between Kiev and the insurgents.
The battle for the main transport hub in Ukraine's industrial heartland erupted Monday just hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed to take a tough stand against the "terrorists".
"The airport is under our full control. The enemy suffered heavy losses. We have none," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said.
He said however the military was continuing its operation and AFP journalists reported hearing sporadic gunfire and explosions during the day.
US President Barack Obama called the president-elect and offered him "the full support of the United States" but UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Ukraine to use "exclusively peaceful means" to regain control in the east.
Donetsk mayor Oleksandr Lukyanchenko said two civilians and 38 combatants had died and another 31 were wounded, including Russians and possibly Chechens.
Monday's air strikes represented the most forceful action yet by Kiev in its battle to crush a bloody rebellion that has raged in the coal and steel belt since early April, threatening to plunge the former Soviet state into all out civil war.
Its action also revived tensions between Kiev and Moscow, which had initially said it was ready to work with the new leader of its western neighbour.
Poroshenko said Monday the military would press on with its offensive against the insurgents.
The 48-year-old pro-Western chocolate tycoon also said he was ready to engage with the Russian leadership and was optimistic a meeting with Putin could be arranged soon.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov -- who initially said Moscow was open to "pragmatic dialogue" with the new leader -- declared that a visit by Poroshenko was "not being considered".