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                       Ukrainian Troops Reclaim Key Town

   by VOA News

   Ukraine says it has reclaimed control of a key city in the east, where
   rebels and government troops are battling for territory.

   Ukraine's national security spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Wednesday
   that the Ukrainian military has re-taken control of the town of
   Ilovaisk, after heavy fighting with pro-Russia separatists.

   Lysenko told reporters he cannot say that the town is "freed of
   terrorists," but said Ukrainian forces have managed to "enter the town
   completely." But he said rebel fighters continue to launch
   counter-attacks against troops in the area. Lysenko described Ilovaisk,
   40 kilometers from the city of Donetsk, as a logistical hub for rebel
   fighters because of its major roads and rail lines.

   Ukrainian commanders also say they are surrounding Donetsk itself, a
   rebel stronghold, and fighting also continues in the province of
   Luhansk, near the border with Russia.

   Later on Wednesday, Lysenko told reporters a Ukrainian SU-25
   single-seat fighter jet has been shot down in the rebel-held Luhansk
   region. The identity of the shooters and the fate of the pilot are
   unknown.

   Local officials say 34 civilians and at least nine Ukrainian soldiers
   have been killed in fighting in the past two days.

   Lysenko also said Wednesday that an aid convoy from Russia is still
   parked on the border with Ukraine, awaiting inspection by the
   International Committee of the Red Cross. He said the Red Cross is
   still waiting for security guarantees from all sides before inspecting
   the convoy.

   Diplomacy

   Ukraine's president, Petro Poroshenko, is set to attend a meeting next
   week with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, to address the
   crisis in eastern Ukraine.

   Poroshenko's office described the August 26 summit in Belarus as an
   effort aimed at "stabilizing the situation in Ukraine."

   The meeting will bring the two leaders into the same room for the first
   time since a brief encounter in France in June, and opens the
   possibility of direct talks for the first time since pro-Russian rebels
   launched a rebellion in Ukraine's east in April. Kyiv and many Western
   government say Moscow is sponsoring the rebellion - a charge Russia
   denies.

   A Kremlin statement said a number of meetings will take place at the
   Belarus summit. It did not say whether Putin and Poroshenko will meet
   face-to-face.

   EU leaders are also scheduled to attend the meeting, which will be held
   in Minsk.

   And in Moscow Wednesday, police arrested and charged with vandalism
   four protesters accused of climbing one of Moscow's most prominent
   buildings and raising a Ukrainian flag on top. They also are accused of
   painting the Soviet star on the Stalin-era building's spire in blue and
   gold, Ukraine's national colors.

   WATCH: Related video report from VOA's Zlatica Hoke:

   ''
   Gabe Joselow contributed to this report from Kyiv.


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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/nine-killed-in-eastern-ukraine-violen
   ce-reu/2421949.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/nine-killed-in-eastern-ukraine-violence-reu/2421949.html