Not so quiet on the Eastern front: Incredible close-up pictures capture the running gun battles as Ukraine crisis develops into full-scale war through town and country



Images taken during clash between pro-Russian and Ukrainian forces

Kiev officials said first assault took place outside city of Lugansk

The border guard service said seven of its servicemen were wounded

Ukrainian forces killed five rebels during the attack, it has been said



Children's hospital also shelled during attack on government checkpoint

This powerful set of close-up photos captures the moment that yet another bloody clash broke out between warring sides in Ukraine, as the ongoing conflict reached new levels.



The photos were taken during the latest assault in the strife-torn separatist east, outside the industrial city of Lugansk, amid fears that the crisis is being propelled into a full-scale war.



The confrontation ended with five rebels being killed as Ukraine forces warded off an attack by 500 pro-Russian gunmen on a federal border guard camp.



A pro-Russia militant shoots from a loft of a residential building at borderguards defending the Federal Border Headquarters building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk Kiev officials said the assault took place in the the strife-torn separatist east, outside the industrial city of Lugansk

A pro-Russian rebel pauses before going to the rooftop of an apartment building to fire a rocket propelled grenade during today's clashes in which Ukrainian forces killed five rebels

One of the fighters is seen covering his face during the confrontation, which took place after an attack by 500 pro-Russian gunmen on the federal border guard camp A militant loads a magazine. The border guard service said seven of its servicemen were wounded when 'around 500 terrorists' attacked one of its units The border guard service said seven of its servicemen were wounded when 'around 500 terrorists' attacked one of its units near the city. Meanwhile a children's hospital was shelled during an attack on a on a government checkpoint in Slovyansk, a city in the Donetsk region that has been an epicenter of the pro-Russian movement. A spokesman for Ukraine's self-proclaimed 'anti-terrorist operation' said the border guards eventually received air cover from fighter bombers that managed to destroy 'two mortar crews of militants". A pro-Russia militant is seen shooting from the roof of a residential building, aiming at borderguards who defended the Federal Border Headquarters building in Lugansk The militants were seen moving around the roof top, trying to get the best positions from which to fire

In a statement, the border guard said the rebels were using mortar, grenade launchers and machineguns in the attack.

It said the fighters were firing from residential apartments and rooftops, while 'using civilians as human shields'. A spokesman for Ukraine's self-proclaimed 'anti-terrorist operation' said the border guards eventually received air cover from fighter bombers that managed to destroy 'two mortar crews of militants'.

The border guard said the rebels, one of whom is pictured here running for cover, were 'using civilians as human shields'

It said the rebels were using mortar, grenade launchers and machineguns while carrying out the attack Ukrainian army paratroopers move to position in Slovyansk, Ukraine Ukrainian army paratroopers sit atop an APC as they move to position in Slovyansk. Hundreds of armed insurgents attacked a border guards' camp in eastern Ukraine Rebels nearby promised safety for the officers if they surrendered the base and lay down their arms Ukrainian army paratroopers move to a position in Slovyansk

'After the aircraft returned to base, we received information that fighting around the Lugansk border unit resumed,' Vladyslav Seleznyov told Kiev's ICTV television.

Ukraine's defence ministry said on Friday that the seven-week eastern insurgency had claimed the lives of 49 Ukrainian servicemen and 128 civilians and separatists.

Russia has accused Ukraine of breaching the 1949 Geneva Conventions protecting civilians in wartime by killing peaceful citizens.

A fighter is seen firing from the roof of a building, from where most of the gunshots were fired



The soldier checks behind him as he prepares to shoot from the roof of the residential building

A Pro-Russian fighter ducks for cover on the roof of a residential building

Ukrainian forces killed five rebels on June 2 while repelling an attack by 500 pro-Russian gunmen on a federal border guard camp in the strife-torn separatist east, Kiev officials said

A pro-Russia militant loads a magazine during the shoot-out, as the conflict between the two sides reaches new levels

It piled further diplomatic pressure on Kiev by announcing that it would submit a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council later on Monday demanding an immediate end to fighting and the creation of a corridors that would allow civilians to escape the affected areas.

Ukraine has previously rejected the need for such an 'aid corridor' out of fear that Russia might want to send in troops to supervise the evacuation.

Eight-month-old Evgeny, who suffers from cerebral palsy, lies in a cot inside a children's hospital, which was damaged by shells during ongoing fighting between Ukrainian troops and pro-Russian forces, in Slaviansk, Ukraine

Baby Evgeny cannot be transported to another hospital as it would endanger his life

A hole in a wall of the children's hospital following a shell attack during the fighting

A woman looks up at a hole, which was blasted through the wall of the children's hospital

Vladislav Seleznyov, press secretary for Ukraine's operation against the rebels in the east, described the base as an important coordinating node for the border guards, and said the attack may have been an attempt to disrupt communications.

Seleznyov also spoke of the separate rebel attack on Monday on a government checkpoint in Slovyansk, a city in the Donetsk region that has been an epicenter of the pro-Russian movement.



A man carries his son as he leaves his apartment building during an ongoing shoot-out between pro-Russia militants and border guards defending the Federal Border Headquarters in Lugansk

Pro-Russia militants shoot at the Federal Border Headquarters building from a roof of a residential building

Pro-Russia militants evacuate the children living in nearby apartments during the shoot-out

The Federal Border Headquarters building during its storming by pro-Russia militants

He said rebels had set mines at a number of power plants in Slovyansk, which he claimed would be detonated if the government were to move on the city.



In the regional capital of Donetsk, gunmen from the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic entered the office of the local newspaper and took away its editor, Leonid Lapa, and his deputy Valery Lapshin.

The gunmen said they were taking the Vecherny Donetsk editor in for questioning.



For weeks, Russian-speaking eastern Ukraine has been the scene of deadly clashes between government troops and pro-Russian insurgents.



An armed pro-Russian militant guards a barricade outside the regional state building they seized in Lugansk. The volunteer National Guard said gunmen had sprung a surprise raid

The Lugansk region near Russia that had been under effective rebel control since early April

Ukraine's defence ministry said on Friday that the seven-week eastern insurgency had claimed the lives of 49 Ukrainian servicemen and 128 civilians and separatists

Many in Ukraine's east are suspicious of the new pro-Western government in Kiev, which came to power when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych fled the country in February after months of street protests in Kiev.



Protests in the east demanding greater independence from the Ukrainian capital soon turned into a separatist movement as the Luhansk and Donetsk regions declared independence following hastily called referendums.



The conflict between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian insurgents escalated markedly in the past week, with rebels attempting to seize a major airport and the shooting-down of a Ukrainian military helicopter.



In Moscow, the Russian Defense Ministry announced Monday a military exercise involving the launch of high-precision missiles.



The ministry said the maneuvers of the western military district will continue through Thursday and will involve the deployment of Iskander surface-to-surface missiles.

