Merkel wants truth from Russia

German Chancellor Angela Merkel made her remarks in a telephone conversation with her Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko on Saturday, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin.

Her demand comes in response to claims by pro-Russian separatists waging a bloody insurgency in eastern Ukraine that they were being supplied by Russia with tanks and trained fighters.

Merkel told Poroshenko that Russia must state clearly whether it was supplying weapons to the separatists or not, Seibert said. Moscow has until now denied such accusations.

Seibert said both the German and Ukrainian leaders had agreed that the deliveries of weapons must stop and a ceasefire put in place to stop the violence. It has been running for four months, killing more than 2,100 people, as well as unleashing a humanitarian crisis.

Merkel's comments come ahead of a meeting in Berlin on late on Sunday to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The meeting is to be attended by the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

Warplane downed

Amid fighting between government troops and rebels, the separatists shot down another Ukrainian warplane overnight. A Ukrainian military spokesman confirmed the downing of the Mig-29 fighter in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, saying the pilot had ejected and been found after a search.

The separatists have brought down some 10 Ukrainian aircraft since June. Western powers also suspect them of having shot down Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 on July 17, killing 298 people.

The latest downing comes after the separatists on Saturday claimed they had opened up a supply line between Donetsk and Luhansk, eastern cities which are besieged by Kyiv government forces.

Separatist leader Andrei Sakhartshenko told Russia's Interfax news agency that their next aim was to break the Ukrainian army blockade of the city of Luhansk.

Stalled convoy

Meanwhile, the Red Cross said on Sunday it had officials in place to start official inspections of a Moscow-sent convoy carrying what Russia says is humanitarian aid for residents of war-torn eastern Ukraine. A spokeswoman said, however, that she doubted the inspections would begin on Sunday.

The convoy has remained parked at the border since Thursday amid Ukrainian fears that the around 300 trucks may be transporting weapons or other aid to the separatists.

The humanitarian situation in the besieged cities of Donetsk and Luhansk is reported to be dire, with Luhansk lacking electricity or water for two weeks and food and water in scarce supply. More than 40,000 residents of Donetsk are without power, its city council said.

Both cities are strongholds of the pro-Moscow separatists, who have declared them independent of Kyiv. The cities remain encircled by Ukrainian troops attempting to recapture them from the rebels.

The United Nations said more than 285,000 people have fled the fighting in eastern Ukraine so far.

tj/ipj (dpa, AFP, Reuters)