An Associated Press reporter saw three military-type vehicles ablaze Thursday in Berezove, a village along the road connecting Mariupol with Donetsk, the largest rebel-held city in eastern Ukraine. Russian-backed separatist fighters were on the move, indicating they could be trying to take control of the strategic highway. Later, columns of smoke rose outside the nearby village of Olenivka, suggesting that Ukrainian forces could be trying to retake it.
Russia and Ukraine say they are working on a deal to halt months of fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and Russian-backed separatists.