Earlier this morning pro-Russian separatists shot down a Ukrainian army transport plane loaded up with an anti-aircraft missile as it came in to land in the eastern city of Luhansk, killing all 49 military personnel on board.
The Luhansk region is at the heart of the rebellion launched in April by separatists who want Russia to absorb the Russian-speaking east following the annexation of Crimea in March.
Luhansk region
Government forces control Luhansk airport but local media have said fighting is under way today in the city, control of which is important for patrolling the nearby border with Russia.
The rebels also said the Ukrainian air force had fired on the industrial town of Horlivka, just north of the region’s main city, Donetsk
Reuters has more here
The BBC here
