In Ukraine there are reports of prolonged shelling north of rebel stronghold Donetsk.<br /><br />Witnesses described plumes of black smoke filling the air near Donetsk Airport on Sunday (September 7) morning. <br /><br />It’s a further test of the truce that was agreed on Friday between Kyiv officials and pro-Russian rebels.<br /><br />Overnight Mariupol – to the south of Donetsk – saw a serious violation of the ceasefire when government forces came under fire. The attack killed a local woman and left a Ukrainian soldier wounded.<br /><br />Mariupol is a strategic port city about halfway between Russia and Russian-annexed Crimea. Analysts say if it is seized by the rebels, it could serve as a base to build a land bridge with Crimea.
