At least 5 killed in artillery strike on hospital in Donetsk eastern Ukraine

Heavy shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday afternoon killed at least five people and damaged a hospital, six schools and five kindergartens, local officials said. The fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government troops in eastern Ukraine resumed in January after a month of relative calm, killing more than 200 people in the past three weeks, according to the United Nations.

I don’t have a slightest doubt that the decision to supply Ukraine with weapons will be made by the United States as well as by other partners of ours.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko

As the conflict intensifies Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is confident that the United States will agree to send weapons to his country to help it fight pro-Russian rebels, a step the Americans reportedly are considering. U.S. President Barack Obama has opposed sending lethal assistance to Ukraine’s government, but a senior administration official said the surge in fighting may have spurred the White House to review the policy. German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said that she was opposed to the idea.

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