Here's an update from our news desk on the reported upsurge in fighting near Maryinka:
Ukraine's military says separatists have launched an offensive using tanks, mortars, and artillery toward government positions west of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.
Army spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on June 3 that the rebels launched "a massive bombardment on our positions near Maryinka and Krasnohorivka including from heavy weapons."
Ukrainian forces are "holding off all the attacks," he added.
Maryinka is located 15 kilometers west of Donetsk.
Senior separatist commander Eduard Basurin was quoted as saying clashes were still going on in that area as of 1.45 p.m. local time, and accused government troops of firing artillery at rebel forces.
Meanwhile, rebel officials said shooting cut off electricity at the Skochinsky mine in the Donetsk region, trapping more than 350 miners underground. One official said the miners were being evacuated. (Reuters, Interfax)
Here is today's map of the military situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council:
WATCH: The Tekstilshik District on the outskirts of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine appears to have come under artillery fire. Emergency workers rushed to the market in the territory held by Russian-backed rebels. Separatists and government forces blamed each other for the attack. (RFE/RL's Current Time)
