‘Donetsk ready for house-to-house war’

Pro-Russian fighters in the east of Ukraine say they are ready for a military engagement with the government forces in the city of Donetsk.

Ukraine’s eastern city of Donetsk is under heavy bombardment of government forces as Ukrainian troops tighten their grip on the strongholds of pro-Russian fighters.

The newly-elected Prime Minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, on Saturday called for a ceasefire with Kiev to prevent a possible “humanitarian catastrophe” but added that if the Ukrainian army moves into Donetsk the pro-Russians will hold their ground.

“We are ready to have a ceasefire to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe, but will not surrender under any circumstances,” said Zakharchenko in a written statement.

“The fight will be for every street, for every house, for every meter of our land,” he added.

He warned that such circumstance would turn the city into a new “Stalingrad,” a reference to the Soviet Union’s refusal to surrender the city of Stalingrad to the Nazis during World War II.

Zakharchenko’s remarks came after the Ukrainian army has expressed its readiness to enter and occupy Donetsk. Prior to clashes in Donetsk, the industrial city had a population of one million people but many people have been forced to flee to other cities.

However, Ukrainian officials rejected the truce, saying they do not believe in the real intention of the pro-Russians.

A spokesman for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Andriy Lysenko, said militants in Donetsk should “lay down their arms and give up” as the only way to save their lives.

“If white flags come up and they lay down their arms, nobody is going to shoot at them. [But] we have not seen any practical steps yet, just a statement,” he said.

Donetsk is being surrounded by Ukrainian government forces. The eastern Ukraine’s city came under fresh shelling after Zakharchenko’s call for a ceasefire was rejected.

Donetsk officials have announced that parts of a large hospital in the troubled city have been destroyed after a mortar hit it on Thursday.

The shelling has also damaged three nearby apartment buildings.

In a statement, the Ukrainian army said it will proceed with the offensive against pro-Russian forces as they have already suffered heavy casualties.

The Ukrainian army is also trying to take control of the eastern city of Lugansk, where the living conditions have sharply deteriorated.