Troops from Kyiv were reported to be launching a simultaneous offensive in several locations against rebels in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday.<br /><br />Russian news agency Interfax said there had been clashes near Donetsk, Luhansk, Horlivka, Pervomaisk and Llovaisk.<br /><br />Government forces say they are preparing for the final stage of recapturing the city of Donetsk. They claim to have cut off Donetsk from the other main rebel-held city, Luhansk.<br /><br />At least 1,500 people have died since Ukraine’s new government sent in troops to put down an uprising by separatists in April. Another 4000 have been wounded.<br /><br />At the same time, fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people, many of whom have fled to Russia for safety.<br /><br />Ukraine’s parliament will vote on Tuesday afternoon on a possible new round of sanctions against Russia.<br /><br />It includes a list of 172 Russian citizens and 65 companies and could include state-owned gas giant Gazprom which currently provides gas to Europe via pipes running through Ukraine.<br /><br />The move could lead to a disruption in gas supplies to Europe.
