12 killed in Ukraine as Russia pounds rebel-claimed province

By FRANCESCA EBEL and MARIA GRAZIA MURRU
Associated Press

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — Ukrainian officials say Russian shelling and missile strikes killed at least eight civilians people over the past 24 hours and wounded 25 more. Pro-Russia separatists said attacks by Ukrainian forces killed four people. The Ukrainian presidential office said most civilian deaths occurring in Donetsk province. The governor had urged the province’s more than 350,000 remaining residents to flee for their own safety and to allow the Ukrainian army to mount a defense. Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday declared the complete seizure of the Donbas region’s other province. But the governor of Luhansk denies the Russians captured the entire province and says fighting continues in some villages. Russian forces also hit Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city,