Ukrainian soldiers are reinforcing positions in areas recently reclaimed from pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
With the help of high-tech gadgetry and brute force, government officers say they have claimed the upper hand, but on the front lines of the conflict it appears outright victory for Kyiv's army will not be easy. Aid agencies say thousands of civilians caught in the crossfire are living without electricity, water and basic supplies, and soldiers at a checkpoint in Debaltseve, deep in Donetsk province, say the pro-Russian rebels who have retreated are well-equipped.
Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists skirmished repeatedly near the Russian border Saturday but there was no sign of the conflict widening a day after Kyiv said it partially destroyed an armored column that had crossed the border from Russia.
The report of the attack on the column Friday triggered a sell-off in the U.S. dollar and on European stocks, with markets fearful it could change the Ukraine conflict into an open confrontation between Moscow and Western-backed Kyiv.
But Moscow made no threat of retaliation, instead saying it was a “fantasy” that its armored vehicles entered Ukraine. In Washington the White House said it could not confirm that Russian vehicles had been attacked on Ukrainian soil.
Meanwhile, nearly 300 trucks in a Russian aid convoy remained idled near the Ukrainian border outside the Russian town of Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, as complicated procedures drag on for allowing them into eastern Ukraine to help civilians suffering amid fighting.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) would then have the responsibility for distributing the aid to Ukrainians caught in the middle of the conflict with Ukrainian forces and separatists.
On Saturday, the head of the ICRC delegation for Russia, Pascal Cuttat, said Moscow and Kyiv have agreed on how to proceed in terms of clearing, inspecting and preparing the goods. He noted the security guarantees were needed from all sides before the trucks could move. Ukrainian officials say they have begun inspecting the aid convoy.
Moscow says the mission is purely humanitarian, but Kyiv and the West have voiced concerns it could serve as a "Trojan Horse" for an invasion or a way to re-arm pro-Russian rebels who have suffered previous losses.
Earlier Saturday, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spoke with Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to discuss the situation in Ukraine. The White House says both leaders reaffirmed their support for a diplomatic solution to the crisis and called on Russia to enter into good faith negotiations.
The foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, France, and Germany are expected to meet Sunday in Berlin to discuss the tensions in Ukraine.
German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier told Bild newspaper that he hopes the talks will help put an end to violence in eastern Ukraine and help provide residents of the war-torn region with humanitarian aid.
French President Francois Hollande and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso discussed the situation Saturday. Afterward, Hollande called on Russia to respect Ukraine's territorial integrity and urged Kyiv to exercise restraint in its military activities. He said France is ready for a new summit on the issue and added that Sunday's meeting could be used as a first step toward that end.
On the ground Saturday, the conflict returned to the pattern it has been following for several weeks. Kyiv said military equipment was entering from Russia, and the rebels said they had attacked Ukrainian troops.
A Reuters reporter in Donetsk, one of two rebel strongholds in the east, said the sound of explosions was audible in the city center.
Finnish President Sauli Niinisto was to arrive in Kyiv later Saturday for talks with his Ukrainian counterpart, Petro Poroshenko, aimed at finding a negotiated solution. Niinisto met Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday and afterwards spoke of the possibility of a truce, although it was not immediately clear how that would happen.
The conflict has dragged relations between Russia and the West to their worst since the Cold War and set off a round of trade restrictions that are hurting struggling economies both in Russia and Europe.
An estimated 2,090 people had died in the Ukraine conflict, with nearly 5,000 wounded, the United Nations said this week.
A rebel Internet news site said Saturday that separatist fighters had killed 30 members of a Ukrainian battalion in fighting in Luhansk province, a rebel-held area adjacent to the Russian border.