You're reading: Bloomberg: Battle rages amid east Ukraine’s bloodiest fighting in weeks

The deadliest flare-up in fighting in eastern Ukraine since December stretched into a third day as President Petro Poroshenko broke off a visit to Germany.

The military’s press service said on Jan. 31 that Russian-backed insurgents pounded the town of Avdiyivka, 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the conflict zone’s biggest city, Donetsk, using rockets and artillery. Rebels blamed the army for the shelling. Before Poroshenko left Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel used a joint news conference on Jan. 30 to voice concern at the security situation.

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