Is this the proof Putin is already moving heavy artillery into Ukraine? Russian trucks carrying tanks towards the border are seen returning empty the next day

New pictures show empty transport convoy returning from the border

Same convoy was seen yesterday heading towards border carrying tanks

Images suggest Putin's forces are placing fighters and weapons in Ukraine

Putin and Ukrainian president due to talk next week for first time in months

A Russian convoy of trucks carrying tanks towards the Ukraine border has been seen returning without its cargo... fuelling fears that Vladimir Putin is already gathering his army in the country.

The convoy of 13 military transporters had been carrying fearsome T-90 tanks and infantry vehicles through Russia's Rostov region towards the border.

The following day, the same trucks were seen returning empty.

The images are certain to alarm the West, which fears Putin's forces are placing fighters and heavy weaponry across the border into rebel-held regions of Ukraine.

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The military transport convoy, totalling 13 vehicles, was seen a few miles from the border

A T-90 tank being carried towards the Ukrainian border in a military transporter convoy Many of the same transport vehicles were photographed driving away from the border the following day The images are certain to alarm the West, which has accused Putin of supplying weaponry to rebels in Ukraine

The empty transporters photographed leaving the area days after they arrived with military equipment

The number plates of the trucks matched those of trucks spotted carrying equipment towards the border

The vehicles carrying tanks were seen heading in the direction of where Putin's 'humanitarian convoy' is located

All the vehicles' plates have the number 21 on them, indicating they are from the former North Caucasus Military District, now part of Russia's Southern Military District

Today the eastern city of Donetsk - once a staunch separatist stronghold - turned into a war zone as clashes between opposing forces intensified.

Rebels were seen firing as they made their way through a car park, while in an area near the rebel headquarters building, residents fled when shelling began nearby.

Shops closed early, and cars with gunmen inside sped through the streets, ignoring red traffic signals.

A few hours earlier, fighting broke out in Makiyivka, a neighbourhood on the eastern edge of Donetsk that until Tuesday had not seen any combat.

A resident of Makiyivka who gave his name as Svyatoslav said he had seen separatist fighters turning back an ambulance from the scene of the fighting, telling the crew there was no one left alive for them to treat.

'They're having to retreat, they're not able to stand their ground the way they want to,' he said of the rebels.

The conflict has been plagued by accusations Russia is supplying troops and military equipment to the separatists across the border.

Number plates on seven of the trucks seen today matched those seen carrying the tanks towards the border yesterday. All the plates also carry the number 21 on the right hand side, indicating they are from the former North Caucasus Military District, including strife-torn Chechnya and Dagestan, which is headquartered in Rostov-on-Don. It is now part of Russia's Southern Military District.

The tanks and infantry fighting vehicles were seen 21 miles from the border and heading towards it. This is close to the frontier post where Russia's stalled 'humanitarian aid' convoy is holed up.

A man repairs a broken window in his home in Khartsyzk, located about 24km from Donetsk

Residents wait inside a makeshift bomb shelter in Makiyivka as fighting breaks out across the town

Ukrainian forces today pressed on with their offensive in the east despite claims fleeing civilians have been killed

Kiev has refused so far to permit almost 300 trucks to enter its territory amid suspicions the vehicles - army lorries painted white - have a military purpose. Russia strongly denies this, arguing it is vital that the 2,000 tons of aid - including grain, sugar and baby food - is urgently needed in war-ravaged areas.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has taken a heavy human toll and has climbed today after a refugee convoy was hit by a rocket attack last night.

Fifteen bodies have so far been removed from the scene - it is understood the convoy of buses and cars was packed with civilians fleeing heavy fighting between Ukrainian government forces and separatist rebels near Luhansk.

Ukrainian government forces blame the attack on pro-Russian separatists they are battling in the area around the rebel-held city, while the rebels have denied responsibility.

The United Nations says an estimated 2,086 people, including civilians and combatants, have been killed in the four-month conflict.

That figure has nearly doubled since the end of July, when Ukrainian forces stepped up their offensive and fighting started in urban areas.

Luhansk has been largely cut off for weeks and is now in its 17th day without water and regular supplies of electricity which have hit mobile and landline phone connections.

A statement issued by the press service of the Luhansk municipality painted a picture of misery and fear for its inhabitants.

'Overnight there was fresh shelling. The centre of the town has seriously suffered particularly near the central market ... As a result of the armed clashes civilians have been wounded and killed. There is further destruction (of buildings),' it said. 'Bread is being sold from vehicles, with big queues forming ... Interrupted supplies of food, medicines and fuel to Luhansk is a particularly acute problem.'

Meanwhile, president Vladmir Putin is due to meet Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko next week for the first talks between the two in months.

Government forces have pushed on with a punishing offensive designed to win back the east

A diplomatic solution would have to resolve a contradiction: with his troops advancing and victory possibly within reach, Poroshenko has little incentive to offer the kind of compromises that would allow Putin to achieve a face-saving deal.

The offices of the Ukrainian and Russian presidents said both men would attend a meeting in the Belarus capital, Minsk, on Aug. 26, which is also to be attended by EU officials, and the leaders of Belarus and Kazakhstan.

Officially, the meeting concerns relations between the EU and a customs union involving Russia, Belarus and Kazakhstan, but Ukraine will top the agenda.

The meeting will be the first between Putin and Poroshenko since a fleeting encounter in Normandy, France, in June at commemorations of the World War Two D-day landings.

European officials say privately that they will keep up pressure on Putin to not support the rebels, but at the same time Ukraine has to be persuaded not to ruthlessly press home its advantage on the battlefield.

That could humiliate the Kremlin and force it into an unpredictable reaction, officials say.

The conflict, which began when street protests put a Western-leading leadership in power in Kiev against Moscow's wishes, has dragged relations between Russia and the West to their worst level since the end of the Cold War.

It has also triggered a round of trade sanctions and retaliatory measures which are hurting fragile economies both in Russia and in European Union states.

Russia annexed the Ukrainian region of Crimea earlier this year. Since then, Kiev and its Western backers say Russia has been arming the anti-Kiev rebellion in Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine, an allegation that Moscow has denied.

Ukrainian forces load a Grad multiple rocket launcher near the eastern city of Shchastya in Lugansk

Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists have been fighting in Lugansk for several days

Ukranian soldiers passing through the trenches dug to hold their position near Shchastya

Rubble sits beside a damaged building in Lysychansk, a city retaken by Ukrainian forces late last month