Two civilians killed in rebel attack

Two civilians were killed on Wednesday when mortar bombs fired by pro-Russian separatists hit their car in government-controlled territory near Luhansk in eastern Ukraine, the head of the Kiev-controlled regional administration said.

"It is clear that the passenger car with civilians was fired on with mortars by a raiding group which occasionally penetrates far into territory controlled by Ukraine," Governor Hennadiy Moskal said in an online statement.

Violence has eased significantly in Ukraine's east since a ceasefire was brokered in the Belarus capital Minsk in February, although government forces and separatists accuse each other of violations, and casualties are reported almost daily.