KIEV, Ukraine -- Fierce fighting raged Thursday in eastern Ukraine as government troops tried to snatch back territory from pro-Russia separatists before the arrival of a Russian aid convoy overseen by the Red Cross.
Trucks loaded with water, generators and sleeping bags for desperate civilians in the besieged city of Luhansk began moving through Ukrainian customs after being held up at the border for a week, in part because of safety concerns and Ukrainian fears that the convoy's arrival could halt the military's advance.
The 200-truck convoy was expected to cross into Ukraine this morning on its way to Luhansk, a city with a war-reduced population of a quarter-million people, 12 miles from the Russian border.
At Russia's urging, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called for a cease-fire during the humanitarian mission.
The Red Cross has said it needs assurances of safe passage from all sides to carry in the supplies and set up distribution points, so even without a formal cease-fire, Ukrainian government forces could be severely constrained in their movements once the trucks begin moving.
Ukrainian troops have made significant advances into rebel-held territory this week in a conflict that has claimed more than 2,000 lives and forced more than 340,000 people to flee their homes.
Looking for a diplomatic solution to the crisis, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko will meet Saturday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has acted as a mediator, and will sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk, Belarus, early next week.
"We are going to Minsk to talk about peace," Poroshenko said in a statement. "The whole world is tired of war."
Poroshenko stopped short of saying whether he still insists on the rebels' unconditional surrender.
Ukraine has accused Russia of arming and supporting the separatists since the fighting began in mid-April, which Russia denies.
Meanwhile, five troops were killed and two civilians died over a 24-hour period in rebel-held areas, authorities said. That followed more than 50 deaths Wednesday.
Troops fought separatists in and around Ilovaysk near the rebel-held city of Donetsk, and at least two people were killed and an unspecified number wounded in an artillery strike on a Donetsk suburb, authorities said.
Once home to 1 million, Donetsk, the largest city still held by the rebels, has seen one-third of its population flee since the spring.
Heavy fighting also was reported Thursday in Luhansk, a day after the government said it had retaken much of the rebel stronghold. The city has been under siege for almost three weeks, lacking such basics as running water and electricity.
"People hardly leave their homes for fear of being caught in the middle of ongoing fighting, with intermittent shelling into residential areas placing civilians at risk," the Red Cross said.
Information for this article was contributed by Laura Mills, Lynn Berry and Frank Jordans of The Associated Press.
A Section on 08/22/2014