Government forces have finally succeeded in cutting off the road between Donetsk and Luhansk, the other main rebel-held city closer to the Russian border, a route which has been the principal means of supplying the rebels in Donetsk with weapons, according to Reuters.
"The forces of the anti-terrorist operation are preparing for the final stage of liberating Donetsk," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told Reuters. "Our forces have completely cut Donetsk off from Luhansk. We are working to liberate both cities but it's better to liberate Donetsk first - it is more important."
The leader of the rebels in Donetsk, Alexander Zakharchenko, a local man who took over the leadership from a Russian citizen last week, said the fighters were considering mounting a counterattack against government forces in the next 2-3 days, according to Reuters.
Lysenko said clashes took place in several parts of eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours with six Ukrainian service members killed and big losses to the rebel side, Reuters reported.
The rebels in eastern Ukraine have been led mostly by Russian citizens and field heavy weaponry Kiev and its allies say can only have come from Russia. Moscow denies aiding them, according to Reuters.
Municipal authorities in Donetsk said artillery shelling knocked out power stations in the city and hit a high-security prison, killing one inmate and allowing more than a 100 criminals to escape, according to Reuters.
United Nations agencies say more than 1,100 people have been killed including government forces, rebels and civilians in the four months since rebels seized territory in the east and the government launched its crackdown. Kiev says 568 of its troops have been killed in combat, Reuters reported.
Government forces have been advancing since June, pushing rebels into Donetsk and Luhansk, capitals of two provinces that the fighters have declared independent "people's republics," according to Reuters.
Fighting in recent weeks has focused on the route linking the cities, near where Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashed in July, killing all 298 people on board, Reuters reported.
Washington says the plane was almost certainly shot down accidentally by rebels using an advanced Russian missile, but Moscow denies this, according to Reuters.
