Separatist rebels have shot down a Ukrainian army plane as fighting raged in the eastern town of Slavyansk. <br /><br />A spokesman for Ukraine’s so-called anti-terrorist operation confirmed a plane carrying humanitarian aid had been shot down.<br /><br />Meanwhile, hundreds of children have been evacuated from troubled areas of Luhansk. <br /><br />They were welcomed in the port city of Odessa by officials from the region’s education board.<br /><br />A train carried nearly 500 children, whose ages range from 3 to 17, fleeing violence in Luhansk. <br /><br />They have either been orphaned or are said to “lack adequate parental care.”<br /><br />Many have seen the battle raging between Ukrainian forces and separatists in the east of the country.<br /><br />One young teenager described their last night in their hometown Schastiya in Luhansk: “At first it was fine, but then it became scary, when they started bombing. We were hiding in cellars.”<br /><br />The children will stay in Odessa for at least two months, but this could be prolonged if unrest continues in Luhansk.
