Photos: Battle for Donetsk intensifies; both Russia and Ukraine claim control
On December 13, Russia and Ukraine said that the situation on the battlefield in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk was difficult and claimed successes in repelling each other's attacks. The Donetsk People's Republic is one of four regions in Ukraine which Moscow had proclaimed as its own in September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies denounced as a "sham," coercive referendum.
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A man rides past an American MaxxPro military vehicle in the formerly Russian occupied city of Lyman, Donetsk region of Ukraine, on December 11. Fierce fighting in the region in recent weeks has left unclear which parts of Donetsk are under Russian and Ukrainian control, Reuters reported.(Shannon Stapleton / REUTERS)
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Ukrainian artillerymen from the 24th brigade load ammunition inside a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled howitzer at a position along the front line in the vicinity of Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on December 10. Ukraine's top military command said in its daily battlefield update on December 13 that its forces repelled Russian in 10 areas of the Donetsk region. (Ihor Tkachov / AFP)
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Olexandr, 41, and Petro, 50, members of the Ukrainian National guard demining team Battalion Dnipro 1, walk in mine fields, in the northern part of the Donetsk region, on December 12. Russia has claimed to be gradually advancing its positions, with the defence ministry saying on December 12 that its offensive there had killed 30 Ukrainian military personnel the day before, Reuters reported. (Shannon Stapleton / REUTERS)
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A man crosses a river on the debris of a damaged bridge in Bakhmut, Donetsk region, on December 11. "A little more than 50% of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic has been liberated," Denis Pushilin, Russian-installed administrator of the portion controlled by Moscow, told Russian state-owned news agency RIA.(Andriy Andriyenko / AP)
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