Top separatist leaders quit as Ukraine offensive grows

Two of the most senior rebels in eastern Ukraine have quit, deepening the disarray in a pro-Moscow separatist movement being pushed back by an Ukrainian military offensive.

The resignations yesterday came on the same day that artillery shells landed for the first time since the conflict began in the centre of the eastern city of Donetsk, the separatists’ main stronghold.

The reverses suffered by the rebels could force a tactical rethink by Russian President Vladimir Putin.