Ukraine crisis: Troops abandon Luhansk airport after clashes
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The BBC's Richard Galpin says there is a "sense of fear" in Mariupol
Ukrainian
forces have withdrawn from the airport of the eastern city of Luhansk
following clashes with pro-Russian rebels, military officials say.
The announcement came after the two sides were engaged in all-night fighting.Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has urged negotiators meeting in the Belarus capital, Minsk, to make an "immediate ceasefire" their priority.
Some 2,600 people have died in eastern Ukraine since fighting began in April.
The conflict broke out after Russia's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula in March.
The rebels have been gaining ground on Ukrainian forces in recent days, in both the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and further south around the port of Mariupol.
He has accused European leaders of ignoring the Ukrainian army "directly targeting civilians".
On Sunday, he said the issue of "statehood" for eastern Ukraine needed to be discussed to ensure the interests of local people were "definitely upheld".
In other developments:
- President Putin urged the European Union to show "common sense" and not to engage in mutually destructive sanctions, in his first reaction to the threat of new sanctions over Ukraine
- German Chancellor Angela Merkel acknowledged that further sanctions against Russia could aversely affect her country's economy, but said "accepting Russia's behaviour [was] not an option"
- Russia's energy minister said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to hold talks on 6 September to resolve the gas crisis, adding that the EU had yet to confirm whether it would send a representative.
Mariupol residents held an anti-Russia rally over the weekend
Parts of Donetsk city have been badly damaged in weeks of heavy fighting
There were also reports of an attack on a Ukrainian patrol vessel in the Azov Sea on Sunday night.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian and Russian officials are due to hold talks with separatist rebels and international monitors in Minsk.
The meeting of the so-called Contact Group will include representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
Mr Lavrov said he was counting on the talks to focus on "agreeing an immediate and unconditional ceasefire".
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Sergei Lavrov: "We call only for a peaceful settlement of this severe crisis"
"We are for an exclusively peaceful resolution of that most serious crisis, that tragedy," Mr Lavrov told students in Moscow.
Last week's first direct talks between President Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, did not lead to any major breakthrough.
Mr Poroshenko on Monday again accused Russia of "direct and open aggression" in eastern Ukraine.
Nato released satellite images showing what it said was Russian self-propelled artillery in Ukraine
He described the rebels' actions as "the natural reaction of people who are defending their rights".
Mr Putin's comments came after the EU gave Russia a one-week ultimatum to reverse course in Ukraine or face more sanctions.
The EU and US have already imposed asset freezes and travel bans on many senior Russian officials and separatist leaders in eastern Ukraine.
- At least 2,593 people killed since mid-April (not including 298 passengers and crew of Malaysian Airlines MH17, shot down in the area) - UN report on 29 August
- 951 civilians killed in Donetsk region alone, official regional authorities said on 20 August
- In some particularly dangerous places, such as Luhansk region, victims are said to have been buried informally, making accurate counts difficult
- Rebels (and some military sources) accuse the government of concealing true numbers
- 155,800 people have fled elsewhere in Ukraine while at least 188,000 have gone to Russia
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