Here's a video issued by our multimedia department showing fighting at a Ukrainian Army checkpoint in eastern Ukraine:
Firefights broke out at a Ukrainian army checkpoint between the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk. On January 24, the 40th Battalion's 17th Tank Brigade came under attack at Debaltseve from the direction of Luhansk. (RFE/RL Ukrainian Service correspondent Levko Stek).
Here is an update from RFE/RL's news desk:
Russian human rights group, Memorial, has strongly condemned comments made by a Donetsk separatist leader who said he would order rebels fighting against Ukrainian government troops not to take any more prisoners.
Memorial said in a statement on January 24 that Aleksandr Zakharchenko's order to rebels violates the Geneva Conventions and amounts to a war crime.
Speaking after a deadly Donetsk bus attack that he blamed on government forces, Zakharchenko said on January 23: "After this tragedy, I will give the order not to take any more prisoners. We don't need swaps."
"I don't even want to hear about swapping captives anymore. If we swap, then one for one, by units," Zakharchenko said.
"Respected Ukrainian mothers – you are sending your children to their deaths here!" he added.
Memorial said the Geneva Conventions prohibit the issuance of orders not to leave anyone alive, making such threats, or conducting military actions on this basis.