People living near the international airport in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk faced the destruction wrought on their neighbourhood after heavy overnight shelling.

At least one person was killed, according to locals, when fighting intensified in the embattled region on Tuesday (January 13), as separatists tried to oust government forces from the airport grounds.
Late on Tuesday, a passenger bus came under heavy fire near a town south of Donetsk, killing 12 people, according to Ukraine authorities.

The Sergei Prokofiev airport complex, opened to great fanfare by the now ousted president Viktor Yanukovich to mark the Euro 2012 soccer championship, has gradually disintegrated under months of fire.

But although it has not functioned since the onset of hostilities last April, with its runways cratered by shell holes, the airport has symbolic value for both sides. Government forces have repelled repeated rebel attempts to dislodge them.

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Ukraine crisis