this was in a residential area in donetsk. we'll bring you more here on "gmt" as soon as we get it. >>> stay with us here on "bbc world news." >>> still to come, we'll take you live to new york where a crowded commuter train has hit a car. seven people were killed. many more injured. you're a hardworking professional with big aspirations. an advanced degree could help you get where you want to go. but sometimes your career can feel like it's getting in the way of your career. now capella university offers flexpath, a revolutionary program that puts you on the most direct path leveraging what you've learned on the job and focusing on what you need to know so you can earn a degree at your pace and graduate at the speed of you. flexpath from capella university. learn more at capella.edu. >>> a jordanian government minister has told the bbc that the people of his country have a right to revenge against so-called islamic state. it follows the islamist killing of captured pilot moaz al kaseasbeh, whom they burnt alive. it appeared t

donetsk airport is such a place. nearly four months of bitter fighting left this whole area completely shattered. the interior of the terminals are strewn with debris and rubble. and the salvage operation is far from delicate. >> translator: when a concrete beam falls down and a body is burred, we have to lift it up somehow, but as it is all in a confined area we cannot use heavy lifting equipment, we have had to use a controlled explosion to get at it. >> reporter: too group of captured ukrainian soldiers have been ganged into collecting the bodies. the task of locating extracting and identifying the corpses of those killed in action in this conflict is extraordinarily difficult. as you can probably tell just by looking at the conditions in which these con scripts are having to work. the bodydyes of some 30 soldiers have been found here so far. these corpses were found 24 hours previously. but have still not been taken away. and there were other battles, other casualties in other cities. in the chaos of the conflict

, and here in donetsk, we continue to hear the sounds of war. the sounds of explosions in the distance of artillery fire. we've also seen footage posted online from the rebel-held city of luhansk, which shows heavy fighting at night. and the ukrainian army has said in the last 24 hours, it has lost a number of its own service men. in other words, in the run-up to this cease-fire, this planned cease-fire, the conflict does continue. and we know that all sides are now looking at the practicalities, at the details of implementing that agreement, including withdrawing heavy armor from both sides to create a buffer zone and looking very, very closely at that demarcation line. ukraine's president, petrov poroshenko, has said that his military commanders will meet russian military commanders to go through details and to begin looking at implementation. the cease-fire is due to start at the end of saturday, but few here in donetsk and perhaps few on the other side in government-held territory expect a complete or sudden end to war. >> we're joined now b

a bus depot is attacked in donetsk, hours before peace talks. future resumes in minsk >>> al jazeera, live from doha. also on the programme - the u.s. and the u.k. close their embassy in the yemeni capital as houthi leaders strengthen their hold. tough talks with eurozone ministers. a rebel fighter is killed in the philippines after a 10-year manhunt >>> leaders from the ukraine, russia germany and france are due to neat in the belarussian capital minsk in an attempt to end the fighting in eastern ukraine. a ceasefire collapsed, hundreds killed in recent days. two people have died in an explosion at a bus satisfaction in donetsk. a shell hit the bus depot in the early hours of wednesday morning. an industrial plant was targeted. charles stratford with more from donetsk. >> reporter: this happened 8:30 local time this morning. it's one of the central bus faces in donetsk. there were around 30 people at the time. you can see the extent of the devastation, the people that we spoke to in local restaurants heard a massive explosion, panic in the area

people public's region donetsk belongs to the region. attempts to break out will be considered a violation of the minsk agreement. any attempt will be stopped. >> conflict in ukraine force hundreds of thousands of refugees to escape to russia. they are at a border crossing. rory challands reports. >> reporter: it's been 7 months sense this family fled the bombs of eastern ukraine, leaving behind their house and everything in it. they share one room in a college dormitory. they didn't have a knife or fork when they arrived. they do not do much complaining. >> translation: he started working as a builder. he got work at the port. a representative from the company came here and said he needed men. several guys from the dorm got jobs there. i work as a shop assistant. >> the dorm houses 53 ukranian ref disease. -- refugees. since november the 1st they have been paying their own way since the russian government shut off support. thankfully most have picked up work. home may be thousands of kilometres away. internet keeps them connected. krist

hit a bus station killing a circle bus driver in donetsk. we also understand from another report several people were killed when a rocket or artillery struck a smelting works. outside donetsk, we know that the rebels are still trying to take that town of debaltseve a crucial railway town crucial between the rebel's northern part of the territory and southern part of the territory. that's a piece of territory, a town they really want to get. we understand around 19 ukrainian soldiers, the ones involved in fighting have been killed in the last 24 hours and gives you an indication of the intensity of conflict. >> you've been there the past few days. do you get a sense they are prepared to compromise and pull back as those in the west and ukrainian government want? >> reporter: i think what's clear is that when you speak to them, they say that they don't. when i spoke to one man, a commander the other day, he was a 28-year-old former builder from donetsk. he said the rebels haven't finished yet and want to take debaltseve and the rest of the reg

it's one of two places hit this morning in donetsk. another strike on an industrial plant, very close by. both sides of this conflict suffered indiscriminate shelling. yesterday we saw the attack on the ukranian military controlled city of kramatorsk and comes on a day of efforts to try to bring a truce to the conflict. that's how difficult it will be. >>> the ukranian government says 19 soldiers have been killed including five in a rocket attack. in the city of kramatorsk. they were talking about a residential area. it was also hit. the white house warned that if russia doesn't sign a peace deal there'll be consequences. alan fisher has more on the latest phone call between vladimir putin and president obama. >> reporter: the timing of the call was hugely significant. this was not president obama calling up vladimir putin, asking about his trip to egypt. that is him laying down what he'd like to see from the peace talks. ukrainians and russians are in belarus. france and germany have come up with something they think will lead to a ce

another two died when a shell hit a bus station in donetsk in the early hours of the morning. charles stratford reports from the scene. this happened at local time this morning. it's one of the central bus stations in donetsk. there were reportedly 30 people here at the time. you can see the extent of the devastation. the people that we've spoken to in local restaurants said they heard a massive explosion panic in the area, it's one of two places that were hit this morning in donetsk another strike on an industrial plant very close by. now both sides of this conflict have suffered in discriminate shelling. obviously yesterday we saw that attack on the ukrainian military controlled city. it comes on a day of renewed efforts to try and bring a truce to this conflict. it shows basically how difficult that's going to be. >> the u.n. envoy to yemen has warned its on the brink of civil war. houthi rebels consolidate their hold. there have been talks involving rival groups in the capitol sanna. >> the current situation is a result of previous couplelations. the collapse of the state

charles stratford has this report from the city of donetsk. >> nearly 70 people are living here. more come every day. in this stuffy poorly lit basement under a block of flats, these families try their best to continue their lives. they fled their homes because the shelling has become so intention. olga's home was damaged when a shell destroyed her neighbor's place. >> we all hope the talks will succeed and hope for peace. last night, shelling shattered the windows on the fourth floor. at midnight all families hid in one corner of the shelter. children were batoned down. women were crying. >> the families tell us that the volunteer group which used to bring them food no longer comes. but in donetsk city an aid convoy has arrived. >> this is just the latest humanitarian aid convoy sent by russia to a region which has been described as suffering a humanitarian crisis and its hoped that food and building products like this will help thousands of people in donetsk city and beyond. >> this is the 13th such delivery from russia since the fighting began 10 months ago. there have been do

some viewers may find these images disturbing. >> donetsk's mork can barely cope. the majority of the dead here are not separatist fighters. they're civilians innocent people who had no role in the conflict. >> there's a lack of space. we have received 2,800 dead since march of last year, 500 bodies since the beginning of the year. 70% of civilians women children people who lived alone. >> as the german and french leaders flew to moscow to secure a truce few people braved the streets of donetsk. the sound of nearby shelling echoed throughout the city. >> we're in a separatist controlled checkpoint close to the airport. the intensity of the shelling and repeated failures of prefers ceasefire calls show how difficult it is to maintain any truce. >> the fighters we spoke to at this checkpoint had little faith in this latest peace effort. >> we have already seen peace talks and i don't trust them anymore. when we offered them peace talks, the ukrainian army uses the chance to enforce their positions. >> in town, hundreds of people mainly the old and infirm queued for f

organized fighters now calling themselves the army of the donetsk people's approximate. there are more on both sides virtually every day. moscow says it's not supplying the separatists with weapons. >> we have a number of russian prisoners of war. and i must say the russian federation while sending in troops every day while getting ukrainian hardware says there is no russian federation there. this is cynicism of the highest degree. >> reporter: residents of donetsk parts of the airport which has seen part of the heaviest fighting has been without running water or electricity for weeks. many of the houses have been completely destroyed. another failed attempt at a truce as the fighting in this region intensifies. fear and uncertainty among civilian population on both sides of the conflict grows every day. charles stratford donetsk ukrainian. eastern ukraine. >> cleared the final protest camps. sarah clark is with us there how well supported is this rally? >> reporter: the organized had hoped to get around 50,000 people, our numbers or our estimates would be probably betwe

to interfax quoting the donetsk people's republic. stay with us here on bbc wormd news. at ancestry, we call it a hint.. our little leaf that helps guide you through the past. simply type in a name and you're taken on a journey. a journey that crosses generations. and continents. all to tell the most amazing story. yours. discover your story. start searching for free now at ancestry.com ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ they lived. ♪ (dad) we lived... thanks to our subaru. ♪ (announcer) love. it's what makes a subaru a subaru. hey, how you doin'? it hurts. this is what it can be like to have shingles. a painful blistering rash. if you had chicken pox the shingles virus is already inside you. as you get older your immune system weakens and it loses its ability to keep the shingles virus in check. i just can't stand seeing him like this. he's in pain. one in three people will get shingles in their lifetime. the shingles rash can last up to 30 days. i wish that there was something i could do to help. some people with shingles will

we saw those dramatic pictures there was the airport in donetsk. if the war widen, that kind of destruction could expand over a larger area and have a serious impact on the lives of millions more people than are already being impacted by the conflict. in terms of reaction from the kremlin about this discussion that's underway in washington now, about whether or not to splu weapons, there's been nothing firm. the russian foreign minister sergei lavrov, in beijing and meeting with chinese and indian counterparts, essentially saying that a supply of american weapon to one side in the conflict would not be altogether unexpected. >> translator: there has been confirmation that the u.s. was directly involved from the very beginning in this anti-governmental coup d'etat. president obama literally called it the transition of power. secondarily aid like to note that this rhetoric shows washington's intention to continue doing everything possible to unconditionally support ukraine's authorities who have apparently taken a course toward military solutions to

heavy fighting reported there at donetsk. heavy shelling reported further south near mariupol and the black sea:the united states has been using economic sanctions to discourage russia from supporting rebel forces inside ukraine. while senior officials consider sending arms president obama's deputy national security adviser says not so fast. >> we don't think the answer to the crisis is simply to inject more weapons and get into that type of tit for tat with russia. we think the answer is to squeeze russia apply pressure on russia, try to get them to the table with those separatists so that we can see a peaceful deescalation. >> and as that debate over what will these weapons achieve heats up separatists are gearing up for much more fighting. >> on monday the leader of the self-proclaimed people's republic of donetsk announced a drive to recruit 100,000 new fires, even as civilians across the region struggle to salvage what's left of their homes and lives. >> russia of already unhappy with u.s. policy in ukraine. at the half-

we can go to charles stratford our correspondent in the eastern part of ukraine in donetsk. i'm just wondering first charles, whether news of the ceasefire due to kick in in about three days, whether that is true to donetsk and what kind of reaction there might have been. >> well, there's already been some reaction from the respective leaders of the self-proclaimed donetsk and luhansk people's republics. i'll read out what's been said. we cannot deny ukraine the chance the constitutional changes, referring to potential greater autonomy for these regions. however, he did say we know the victory will be ours by political or military means. there was also a statement that has been given by the leader here in donetsk who said that all responsibility for breaking down or non-compliance with these agreements would be on ukrainian president petro poroshenko and said all points need further considerations and all talks continue. as we've been highlighting, this ceasefire is not due to start until 00 ours on the 15th. there's been an incredible intensity of fighting in recent weeks a

. >>> once again the scene of fears battles in donetsk. charles stratford reports. >> not separatist fighters, civilians, incident victims with no role in this conflict. >> there is a lack of space bodies lie on top of each other we have received 2800 dead since march of last year, 500 bodies sing thesince the beginning of the year. women and children people who lived alone. >> another attempt and securing a truce. few people braved the streets of donetsk. the sound of nearby shelling echoed throughout the city. we're at a separatist controlled checkpoint close to the airport. now the intensity of the shelling and the repeated fatal yours of previous calls for a ceasefire shows just how difficult it is to maintain any truce. the fighters we spoke to at this checkpoint had little faith in this latest piece effort. >> translator: we have already seen peace talks and i don't are trust them anymore. when we offer them peace talks the ukrainian army use them to enforce their positions. glsh >> reporter: this has become a tal scene. in the self

especially if you look at the donetsk region and other region as well. you can see this the shelling is intensified. also more and more people fleeing, as we saw in the reportment at the same time -- report. at the same time if you lock here officials are clinging to the possibility of talks that are going to be happening in minsk in a couple of days where president poroshenko has said that he's hoping for a cease-fire without conditions, an unconditional cease-fire, to make sure the fighting there at least ends. it's no secret that the ukrainian army east of the sun and on the back foot they have lost considerably territory. however, one of the thing the ukrainian government wants to avoid is that in these talks they want to avoid giving more land de facto to separatist. keep in mind when the last grammy of reach in september, the battle lines were a lot different than now. and the pro-russian separatists have gained more territory. that is going to be one big point of contention for the ukrainians. at this point, the situation on the battlefield remain

he joins us now from donetsk. what have they told you? >> the separatist leader here in donetsk has released a statement that doesn't bode well at all for this cease-fire. excuse me if i paraphrase it. he said, refer together separatests, will stop firing throughout the area excluding the town of debaltseve. he said there were no words about the town of debaltseve, and any attempts by the ukrainian army to escape from the town or break out will be regarded as a violation of minsk. the ukrainians have been pouring in troops to it. we were there yesterday. the separatests have for the last week or so claimed that they have completely surrounded it. we understand that there are as many as 8,000 ukrainian troops inside debaltseve. and it's very obvious by the statement that he considers debaltseve to be part of the territory area. you >> coupled with what you saw today, talk us through that. >> well, we came back from the debaltseve area this morning. as i say, we were reporting from there yesterday. gene we saw a big troops build up there uk

the negotiator says the self proclaimed luhansk and donetsk people's republics they are fully occupied dealing with this. >> reporter: the fighting continues between government forces and what seems increasingly well organized fighters calling themselves the donetsk people's republic. the ukrainian defense minister says russia was sending in more troops. moscow has denied such a claim that it is not supplying the separatists with more weapons. >> we have a number of prisoners of war and i want to say the russian federation, while getting military hardware into ukrainian territory is saying there is no federation there. this is the cynicism of the highest degree. >> residents in parts of donetsk close to the airport which has seen some of the heaviest fighting have been without running water or electricity for weeks. many of the houses have been completely destroyed. another failed attempt at a truce as the fighting in this region intensifies fear among civilian population on both sides of the country grows by the day. charles stratford, al jazeera donetsk, eastern ukraine. >> live pict

republic. >> translator: donetsk should be independent. unity won't work. to return to ukraine means to be governed by an inadequate government. >> translator: how can we return to ukraine after everything they have done to us. >> reporter: thousands of people have been killed in indiscriminate shelling on both sides of this conflict. three shells hit this hospital in separatists controlled donetsk on wednesday night. at least one person was killed. >> translator: we hid where we could. the penitentiary -- patients were laying under the dust. >> reporter: so many people have died since the last ceasefire collapsed in september, and there is great uncertainty as to whether this latest truce will be implemented and hold. >>> a former south korean airline executive is beginning a year-long jail sentence over a bag of nuts. heather cho was found guilty after forcing a flight attendant off of a plane. harry fawcett has more. >> reporter: in custody since the end of december heather cho was at least spared the gauntlet of cameras. it wouldn't be

it's one of the central bus stations here in donetsk. there were reportedly around 30 people here at the time. you can see the extent of the devastation. the people we've spoken to in local restaurants heard a massive explosion panic in the area. it's one of two places hit this morning in donetsk another strike on an industrial plant very close by. both sides of this conflict have suffered indiscriminate shelling. obviously yesterday we saw that attack on the ukrainian military controlled city, and it comes on a day of renewed efforts to cry and bring a truce to this conflict. it shows basically just how difficult that's going to be. >> let's go live now to minsk to rory challands. >> whether it's a deal or not it's hard to say. there is an effort, leg work done in the last two or three days both in berlin and here in minsk, as well, with diplomats and representatives trying to get the different sides of this conflict roughly into a position where they might be able to agree on something so that when the leaders show up in here, show up

it comes at a time of increased escapes in fighting not only in donetsk but throughout the region. >> charles stratford live for us from ukraine. >> coming up on the program. >> pharmaceuticals farming food ago degree business, everything is affected. >> we'll find out who's been taking a train to brussels for the trade deal. >> a controversial french comedienne in court accused of condoning terrorists. >> there's more to financial news than the ups and downs of the dow. for instance, could striking workers in greece delay your retirement? i'm here to make the connections to your money real. >> "real money with ali velshi". tonight at 10:30 eastern. only on al jazeera america. >> a recap of our top stories now here on al jazeera. king abdullah cut short his trip to the united states and now back in jordan as hundreds have gathered to mourn a murdered pilot. jordan executed two prisoners hours after a video was released showing muath al-kaseasbeh being killed by isil. >> at least 23 people are dead and 20 missing after a plane crash in taiwan. the aircraft hit a tax see and a bridge be

i'm in the center of donetsk here. we heard a loud explosion last night which rattled the entire city which one european diplomat says was an armed depot being hit. this violence is casting civilians in the middle of it and the fear is that ahead of these peace talks in minsk it could escalate. both sides want to be in the best position on the battlefield militarily militarily before they agree to a cease-fire. in the 36 to 40 hours ahead before maybe the four leaders find themselves to sit down together at a table, we could see an escalation here and more civilian lives lost or a dramatic change in events in the battlefield could sabotage those talks. separatists themselves said we will not take one step back. that's going to make it hard to reconcile what kiev wants which is no real change to their borders and what i think may be during diplomatic rounds which is freezing of the conflict here and peacekeepers involved and recognition that frankly i'm standing in an area that separatists call their own republic. ukrai

charles stratford there with the latest from donetsk. >>> as sri lanka's president is set to arrive in india. he is likely to bring up the issue you of thousands of slow lan can tamal refugees living in india. they they fled the country's 25 year war. tamils are still displaced even from within their own country. >> reporter: he heads a family of hindu priests. for the last 25 years he has had to live in this camp. his home and temple are within large tracks of lands like this taken over by the sri lanka military during the 3-year conflict. >> translator: these rights and rituals that my family has performed through the generations despite losing our temple, i am pleading with the gods to take us back to our lands. >> reporter: she is another camp resident who wants to return to her village. she says the years she has spent living in temporary housing the lack of proper facilities, and a stable income have been difficult. >> translator: even when they go to play, our children are identified as camp kids. no matter how well they do in school. the label sticks, and they are allalways be

we also went down to the front lines south of donetsk and we heard a lot of shelling there. we spoke to a rebel commander who said he was prepared to lay down his weapons when given the command, but only then. we are also hearing reports of a lot of heavy shelling around the city of luhansk and then of course there is the disputed town of debaltseve, which the separatists claim they have completely surrounded, a lot of heavy shelling and fighting in that area, too so despite some agreement and this push for a new truce, a lot more to be done and the fighting here at eastern ukraine continues. >> thank you for that from donetsk. >> still to come on this program, al-qaeda fighters stormed two army brigades in southern yemen. >> make natural resources work for the people. >> for the people, why not just one, but two conferences on mining are underway in south africa. >> let's look at the top stories here at al jazeera. another ceasefire has been announced for eastern ukraine due to go into effect february 15. leaders from russia, ukraine france and germany have been holding tal

he joins me now from donetsk. they spoke about the cease-fire. what did they have to say? >> yes, in the last couple of hours, they have released a statement that does not bode well for this up and coming attempt at another truss. i'll paraphrase what he said. the separatests would stop firing throughout the region with the exception of the town of debaltseve. he said that there was no mention of the status of the debaltseve in those minsk talks. he said any attempt by ukrainian soldiers to break out of that town would be considered a violation of minsk. he went on to say that those attempts or push by those men to try to get out he said they would be stopped and the enemy eliminated. as we've been reporting in the last few days the separatists say they have surrounded that town it's rumored that there are thousands of ukrainian soldiers trapped inside. we've seen--when we were up there, there was a massive troop build up and an attempt by the ukrainians to defend those troops in there this comes as a very worrying time. it's also worth saying that in the last few minutes

you have the north and donetsk where we are now. what debaltseve gives you is a connected connection between the two, rail connection between the two although we imagine the infrastructure has been smashed in the same way the donetsk airport was. this is about land and resources and creating at least on paper, is a viable entity. people talk about autonomy. actually when you push commanders here want more than autonomy, outright independence and means you need some kind of viable service. interestingly to add here some of the troops here are very clearly from russia. they're from the far east of russia. commanders will say that doesn't prove they're being sent by the russian government all it proves is there have been volunteers, as they call them to come and join the battle. clearly, there has been according to the americans and according to the ukrainians high levels of support. we saw that yesterday in the unbyun u.n. ambassador, samantha power. >>> now, we go to speak to michael, who is trying to monitor the troops. what's your

it's one of two places that were hit this morning in donetsk. another strike on an industrial plant close by. death sides indiscriminate shelling. we saw the attack on the ukranian military city. and it comes on a day of renewed efforts to bring a truce to this conflict. basically it shows how difficult that will be. >> reporting on the latest incident to take place in donetsk. before that he have been just a few kilometres to the north-east. that is where the fighting was at its fooesest. charles went to the town. 19 soldiers were killed in the past 24 hours, which is important. destroyed ukranian tanks and weapons. it is virtually deserted. fighters with the army of the donetsk people's republic took control from the army a few days ago. they were advancing, tightening the noose around the down. >> debaltseve is important. it's a railway junction. we want to liberate the territory. people believe in us voting for us in a referendum because they trust us they want to bring freedom. >> it's not known how many civilians were killed here. it's aro

we go to our correspondent actually in eastern ukraine in donetsk. charles, you've been in the region you've seen what's happening on the ground. what is the situation there? we heard of rocket attacks but there are other incidents taking place in the region. >> that's right. we've just returned from a town which is close to -- very close to the city of debaltseve, which the separatist forces now are saying that they have completely surrounded. it was taken over by the separatists a few days ago. when we were down there there was a lot of outgoing and incoming shelling, a town completely deserted. we spoke to a separatist commander down there who indeed told us that he said his fighters had surrounded debaltseve. he said that there was poor communication with them, but there has been this vow by the separatists to take this city, debaltseve from the ukrainian military for weeks now. it's a significant place because if the separatist were to take control of it, it's a major rail hub between their territory and russia. we were down on the other side in

. >>> want to bring in our frrpt donetsk for the latest on the conflict. of course the backdrop as we just reported president putin saying it's unlikely there will be all-out war with ukraine. but in the midst of this, we're looking at a cease-fire hanging by a thread. talk about the situation on the ground there. >> reporter: kiev says there were 12 cease-fire violations overnight. we heard a lot of shelling on the outskirs of the city of don esk, not just in the direction of the airport where there is continued fighting but also in other parts of donetsk over the course of the night. and there is also reports of shelling inny about adult several where of course there -- in debaltseve where of course there were fighters for the rebel side and on the coast near the sea. there are continued violations which is why the ukrainian military say they are not going to withdraw any of their heavy weapons until the guns fall silent. now, the deputy defense minister of the danesque people's republic -- donetsk people's republic state this morning that the rebels hav

the donetsk military commanders have saged a couple of photo opportunities showing what they say are the withdrawal of guns from the front line. but they are not saying where they are being withdrawn too. and the monitored need to know that information to verify. the osce wants to know where the guns are now, it wants to know which routes are going to be used to remove the guns and finally, it needs to know where the final destination of those guns will be and without that information they cannot verify that a withdrawal has taken place. the osce says it desperate needs that information. but at least the guns are falling silent. you can listen. there is no sound of artillery here for the first time in many many months. >>> plans to build a controversial oil pipeline across north america are now in limbo. u.s. president barack obama vetoed a bill approving the pipeline. it was his first veto in five years. >> hey, obama, we don't want to pipeline. >> reporter: after countless protests a bill trying to force president barack obama's approval of the keystone pipeline has been vetoed and

some of the people in donetsk are in favour of independents. >> donetsk should be independent. unity will not work. to return will be by an inadequate government. >> how can we return to ukraine after everything that happened to us. thousands have been killed. three shells hit the hospital in donetsk. one person was killed. >> we shit where we could. the patient under the dust. one bed was destroyed. it was terrifying. so many people died since the last ceasefire collapsed in september. there's great uncertainty as to whether the latest truce can be implemented. >> thousands of mourners attended a funeral service from three students killed in north carolina. a suspect has been charged with murder saying he may have shot them after an argument over parking. andy gallagher reports. >> it was going to be a sombre service full of raw emotion, but the local community was determined that the victims families would not be alone. thousands came from across the region. so many that the prayer services had to be held in a sports field instead of a mosque. the loss of the three shocked th

so that they wouldn't be able to bombard donetsk anymore. i think if there are firm guarantees from mr. poroshenko and the from the west that, you know even if ukrainians hold this position, they will not use them to bombard donetsk. >> how do you overcome the incredible distrust on all side to say get some sort of diplomatic proposal, some peace deal signed off? >> this will be of course i think the mistrust, the distrust is the main problem because even angela merkel seen as russia's biggest friend was the mortar behind sanctions against russia during the last six months. it was for me, a very sign of trust from putin when he was basically hating to see her in moscow her with mr. hollande and they are looking for ways out of this crisis. i think the main impetus push in russia and european leaders to solving this problem is threat of the further expansion of the conflict. if the united states starts sending lethal aid to the ukrainian government, this is dangerous for russia and europe. you can imagine what happens is ukraine becomes a sec

i do have to say of course that donetsk city is largely quiet. mariupul remains quiet we have these hot spots still live. >> you are calling them hot spots, you're saying it's not technically a breach of the ceasefire, can it still be called a ceasefire? >> the ceasefire is largely holding. these what i mentioned can be regarded as ceasefire violations and of course as your report indicated over the next days our special monitoring mission to ukraine will be looking for that very very large fall back of weaponry. that never really happened before so that will be a key next step as well. >> on both sides they have been saying the conditions are not yet in place for that haven't they so how critical is it and how likely sit that we'll see those heavy weapons being pulled back at all? >> well we remain hopeful. our chief minister called upon all sides to respect the agreements that were signed to in minsk and of course big reason for this is one of the biggest reasons is the human toll that has taken place. we are very, very concerned about the huma

five people have been killed and several injured in a bomb explosion in a bomb bus station in donetsk. >> the burned out wreckage in the city of donetsk just hours before we get another attempt in negotiating, an end to this conflict. when i ran here i saw two people being pulled out. one was in very grave condition. he had his legs broken. there wasthousands of civilians have been killed in seemingly indiscriminate shelling. the attack came a day after soldiers were killed when a missiles hit a residential area. ukrainian president visited the hospital and spoke to some of the wounded. >> civilian people living in their houses where there is no military. this is almost 50 kilometers from the front. and the russian attacking. this is unacceptable. these crimes will be punished. we demand it immediately unconditional cease-fire. >> the separatists denied the attack. they prompted ukrainian troops to bolster their positions close to the front line. the attack on the shopping center behind me happened yesterday, but the violence has dramatically increased in recent weeks. and the shellin

. >> and charles stratford has more now from donetsk. >> reporter: certainly here in donetsk a very quiet night since the ceasefire began. the first quiet night in weeks after intense fighting and heavy shelling. now there are allegations being made by both sides that have been some violations committed since the ceasefire began. we've spoken to a separatist spokesperson that have accused the ukrainian military of some firing and the same allegations made by the pro-russian military. the u.n. will investigate. so far here in donetsk it seems that the ceasefire is holding. a very tense situation a lot of distrust by both sides and a failure at previous ceasefires in all areas of ukraine. >> since the fighting began almost a year ago hundreds of thousands of people have fled to russia. some are housed in temporary accommodations. and others are sent to thousands much kilometers there their home land. measuremurmansk. >> it's been months since they left the bombs of ukraine. now they share one room in a college dormitory. they hadn't even a spoon or fork when they arrived but the family does

around the rebel-held city of donetsk, let's hear more from james reynolds. >> reporter: here in donetsk, we continue to hear the sounds of war, the sounds of explosions in the distance of artillery fire. we've also seen footage posted online from the rebel-held city of luhansk, which shows heavy fighting at night. and the ukrainian army has said that in the last 24 hours, it has lost a number of its own service men. in other words, in the run-up to this cease-fire this planned cease-fire the conflict does continue. and now all sides are looking at the practicalities, at the details of implementing that agreement, including withdrawing heavy armor from both sides to create a buffer zone and looking very, very closely at that demarcation line. ukraine's president, petrov poroshenko, says said his military commanders will meet russian military commanders to go through details and to begin looking at implementation. the cease-fire is due to start at the end of saturday but few here in donetsk and perhaps few on the other side in government-held territory expect a complete or sudden end to w

we came into donetsk and it was quite quiet. then we saw the attack around mid afternoon it went quiet again and it's literally in the last hour or so, and as i'm speaking now what sounds like in coming and outgoing shelling has begun. so things seemingly if you like, heating up the closer we get to this supposed truce agreement started. >> what would happen if this cease-fire fails. there is not a great deal of optimism about it, is there? >> well, there isn't no. we hear from a press statement coming out from the german chancellor's office a few hours ago. the french president in a french going into quite a lot of detail about his anxiety of what was happening in debaltseve. and it's in the last couple of hours he said that if the truce agreement is not stood by, and the separatests go back on their word then he'll declare marshal law against all of ukraine. so obviously a statement like that has massive implications. not only for life for ukraines right away, but for the future of any long-term peace deal. >> charles stratfor

in donetsk. an aid convoy arrived. >> this is the latest humanitarian aid convoy to a region suffering a humanitarian crisis, it's hoped thousands will be helped in donetsk and beyond. this is the 13th delivery from russia since fighting begone. there are doubt whether previous convoys from bringing aid. weapons. >> i have no idea where you could hide any weapons, you could touch the boxes and open them up, making sure there is only food inside. >> the poor have no choice but to supplement the supplies. >> as the dull crunch of shelling is heard a few kilometres away, the men fish out of necessity than for pleasure these days. vic for has three children and hasn't been paid his pension since july. >> translation: we didn't attack them, they started the war. houses are destroyed, children kill. there's no gas in my home, no pensions, view supplies. i fish to boil myself a soup. i prefer to be outside. way. >> reporter: residential areas continue to suffer on both sides of the conflict. around 600,

. >> let's get an update on the situation in eastern ukraine where the mayor of donetsk said several people have been killed in a shelling that hit a hospital there. let's speak to charles stratford live from eastern ukraine. tell us what you are hearing about the situation in donetsk. >> well, we have had some confirmation from the authorities of donetsk that they say five people have been hurt in that seemingly or that strike on a hospital. we're not having any confirmation yet on whether people have been killed in that strike. no claim of any responsibility yet, but we've spent the last couple of weeks in donetsk and we've seen a steady increase in the violence there, a lot more shelling seemingly in and around the town, as well. it had initially been con send straight around the airport where there have been heavy fighting over recent weeks. the separatist fighters now claiming that they've taken control that have airport but these attacks in the city, these increasing strikes in the city, we had a trolley bus as we reported a couple of weeks ago a number of people killed that in

the rebels now control much of the luhansk region and donetsk. our correspondent sent this report. >> the rebels of donetsk have created their own police force. this afternoon, they invited us on patrol. these officers used to work for the ukrainian police. they have now swapped sides and uniforms. rebels here have been building up the traveled -- trappings of a state. they've got their own flag, their own border crossings, and the police here are at work, and they will not want to give any of this up in the future. >> to yet was founded by a welsh engineer -- donetsk was founded by a welsh engineer in the 19th century. it now exists in this half world rebels have named the donetsk people's republic. there may be a war going on, but residents find ways of getting by. they still open to traffic lights, go shopping, and this once civil servant in ukraine still travels on the number six bus. >> ukraine is doing everything in order to push us away. why should i feel part of a country that does not want meet? >> many in a nearby rebel held city feel t

we have heard what sound to be both incoming and outgoing shelling from around donetsk. we are also hearing reports that there has been am continuation of that intention battle around the town of debulsevea continuation really of the last two days. and it seems as if both sides in this conflict have used this period between the truce being signed and it potentially being implemented to either consolid consolidator build on their positions. we left the debulseve area today this morning and as we came back across the front line it was evidence there were a lot more restrictions amongst the ukrainian military and the way they were enforcing their checkpoints checkpoints. there was also mortars being set up by separatists on their checkpoints. we spoke to a separatist there. he told us that he expected things to get a lot louder as he said as night fell. it certainly seems as if that is happening as we speak. >> there hasn't been much optimism of success ahead of this cease-fire deadline. people are already looking now ahead as to what will happen if the cease-fire does fail

this is northern donetsk. the shell sprayed the side of this residential block with shrapnel, metal. there is a smear of blood on the doorstep. it is mercifully not human, it was a dog caught in the blast. it's not the first time that this particular block has been hit by a shell. it's happened before. it probably won't be the last, but for the residents here, it's almost the last straw. there's a woman who lives on the ground floor, natalia, she wouldn't speak on camera, but she's been here 10 years. she endured the previous explosions that were happening in this area, but she's given up. she's moving out. she's moving down to south donetsk. it does give a lie to those who say that the only place the ceasefire is not being observed is in the town of debaltseve. it's happening here in donetsk it's also happening down towards mariupol, as well. frankly, the people here don't care who is firing first, who is responding to their opponents. all they want is for the guns to fall silent. >> a marsh deadline for a fi

we heard reports here in donetsk from people in donetsk there had been a lot of heavy shelling in the morning but certainly as we came through it was quite quiet, however, that changed around about an hour ago. we were attending a press conference awaiting for a press conference to start being given by one of the separatist leaders here alexander portshenko and three shells landed progressively closer to that building all of the sudden panic among the few people that were on the streets. and like i say there had been here for a few hours but it seems steadily to be escalating. there was a response around ten minutes after those three attacks by what sounded like artillery and grant rockets being fired from positions which it's difficult to say where exactly but certainly around donetsk. so to say there does seem to be a steady escalation and it's interesting as we came across the checkpoints today the separatists set up more to positions that had not been there only yesterday when we crossed to go over. and ukrainian military also saying that there are ongoing battles around the south

debaltseve is a key railway town outside donetsk. the facers claim they've cut off the main supply road from government forces. russian media report military exercises are taking place in crimea. >> the important thing to remember here is what's happening tomorrow, the minsk talks supposed to be going ahead, supposed to be where some sort have negotiated peace settlement is reached that's the hope. it's pretty elementary negotiating strategy, to go into talks like this with your hands as strong as possible. at the moment, we have russia telegraphing to anyone who wants to be listening that it is still and always has been a military power to be reckoned with. that's why we are seeing not particularly big military exercises, but certainly significant in terms of location. we have 2,000 intelligence personnel on exercise in the southern russian military district that borders ukraineed. we also have some 600 troops on exercise, along with 50 tanks in recently acquired rhyme mia. it's not just going on in russia. on the other side of the

some of the people in donetsk are in favor of independence. >> translator: donetsk should be independent. unity won't work. to return to ukraine means to be governed by an inadequate government. >> translator: how can we return to ukraine after everything they have done to us? >> reporter: thousands of people have been killed in indiscriminate shelling on both sides of this conflict. three shells hit this hospital in separatist-controlled donetsk on wednesday night. at least one person was killed. >> translator: we hid where we could. the patients were laying under the dust. one bed was destroyed by shrapnel it was terrifying. >> reporter: so many people have died since the last ceasefire collapsed in september and there is great uncertainty amongst the people here important to whether this latest truce will be implemented and hold. charles stratford, al jazerra eastern ukraine. >>> we have this when we come back. [speaking at the same time] >> we'll see who has been interrupting the president zaps state union speech in south africa. and encouraged to give in germany. the transplant doct

, and russia has violated the territory integrity of ukraine in two respects: in crimea and also in donetsk and luhansk. we're called upon now to come up with solutions not in the sense of mediator, but we also stand up for the interests of the european peaceful order. this is what the french president and i have been trying to do over the past few days. we're going to continue those efforts and i'm very grateful that throughout the ukraine crisis we have been in very very close contact with the united states of america and europe and this will be continued. that is, indeed, one of the most important messages we need to send to russia. we continue to pursue a diplomatic solution, although we have suffered a lot of set backs. these days we'll see whether all sides are ready and willing to come to a negotiated settlement. i've always said i don't see a military resolution to this conflict but we have to bring all our efforts in bringing about a diplomatic solution. there is a whole host of issues. over lunch we'll continue to talk about climate protection, and sustainable development goals. y

they have gotten donetsk airport, gained two separate cities in the past week. why would they negotiate? >> right, they seem to be on the offensive and they are getting a lot of support from russia. clearly they are getting physical support. nato says, nato and the entire west really, says there are hundreds of russian soldiers there, helping in many ways, certainly supplying weapons providing air defense support and other forms of assistance. so they're on the move and that may discourage them from talking right now. >> so assuming that a ceasefire is agreed upon and there's word that that might happen this weekend negotiations are continuing what concessions is kiev willing to offer? >> it is clear the ukrainians would be willing to offer something for separatists in the area. it's not all black and white the separatists could say get a little more anonymity. there is a clear path that could be negotiated and every side could claim they've won something. but again we're seeing more fighting right now not less. >> meanwhile the national security advisor susan r

and the center connected luhansk and donetsk by lapped and rail. the situation in ukraine is the focus. joining me now, kurt volker, former u.s. ambassador to nato. director of the mccain institute for international leadership, and fred reeka bipedy, senior fellow from the school of advanced international studies of johns hopkins university. the last time you were here you argued against giving defensive weapons to the ukranian army. has what has transpired given idea? >> not yet, i'm afraid. i support the idea that petro porashenko laid down, having international peacekeeping forces in ukraine. that would be an excellent idea. more so, developmental context, mistake. >> here we are, arms continue to pour in over the russian frontier, even though russia doesn't acknowledge that they are russian weapons, giving an venge to separatist forces. they outgun the national army of a country maintaining borders and territorial integrity. >> it's clear that the rebels, took the last chance to connect the two. this would be their last chance it's also true th