Russian-backed separatists on Friday claimed control over the entirety of the long-contested and devastated Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine, shattering hopes for any lasting peace deal.
"Today, we can speak about control over the territory of Donetsk airport and its surroundings," read a statement by the military authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) on Friday.
A separatist leader of the DNR said the fresh assault on the airport was the start of a new "phase of active military operations" to push Ukrainian forces out of the east.
Ukraine's security council warned that a return to full-scale conflict in the war-stricken east of the country could spark a “continental war.”
Despite the separatists' claims, the Ukrainian military denied it had lost control of its position at the airport, saying separatists have "unsuccessfully tried to knock out the Ukrainian military" from the main terminal. It blamed the separatists for resorting to "insidious tricks" -- even using gas -- to try to dislodge government fighters from the complex.
If true, the separatists' takeover of the airport would be the first significant territorial grab by either side since a cease-fire deal was agreed to in September. The armistice has existed in name only, with more than 1,000 people killed in Ukraine's eastern regions since its signing. Around 5,000 people have died in the conflict since last April.
The airport, which sits on the edge of the separatists' stronghold of Donetsk and is considered by both of the warring sides to be a strategic site, has been at the center of fierce, close-quarters battles with weapons ranging from small arms to heavy artillery since May.
Each side has controlled parts of the complex for months, with Ukrainian forces holding onto the main civilian terminal and underground tunnels, which they have used to rotate in fresh troops and supplies.
Today the airport, which was newly built in 2009 for some $400 million to host the Euro 2012 football tournament, is a mess of twisted metal and rubble. It is of limited tactical importance, but it has great symbolic value to both Kiev and the separatists.
@vorobyov I'd throw pride in the mix, too, as Donetsk airport has become much more symbolic in recent months than strategic.— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) January 16, 2015
At Donetsk airport, "I am sure that we are defending there the whole of Ukraine," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said last month. "If we give up Donetsk (airport), the enemy will be at Borispil or Gostomel or even in Lviv."
Dubbed "cyborgs" by separatist fighters for their fierce defense of the airport, Ukrainian troops fighting there have been hailed as national heroes by Poroshenko. He called their fighting spirit a symbol of Ukraine's invincibility and combat capability.
But some reports from Donetsk appeared to confirm that the separatists had now taken control of the airport.
An Associated Press reporter saw a rebel flag hoisted over the main civilian terminal on Thursday, although fighting raged on. Apocalyptic-esque footage filmed yesterday by Russia's LifeNews, which is known to have close ties to the Kremlin's security apparatus, also appeared to show rebel flags flying from the top of the building.
Russian reporters on the ground said Friday afternoon that Ukrainian forces had been cleared from the premises, and posed for photos from inside the main terminal.
Новый терминал - Семен и @epoddubny - но конечно, кто же еще? pic.twitter.com/VUrXD7AS2A— Graham Phillips (@GrahamWP_UK) January 16, 2015
Holding up a tattered Ukrainian flag he said belonged to government troops who abandoned their positions inside the airport, the head of the DNR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, dared them to "come and take it from us."
After a meeting with Ukrainian army officers on Thursday about the airport, Zakharchenko vowed to go on the offensive and retake territory lost to government forces over the summer.
“They [Ukrainian forces] are on territory that they do not control and will never be under their control,” the separatist leader reportedly said, adding that they would go after the towns of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, Ukrainian-controlled towns that lie far from the front lines.
The uptick in violence on Friday came on the heels of an apparent rocket attack on a pedestrian bus near Donetsk on Wednesday that left 13 people dead.
Poroshenko said the attack, which Ukrainian authorities believe was carried out by the separatists, had "chilled the heart." He likened it to the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris that killed 12 people and urged the West to recognize the DNR and neighboring Luhansk People's Republic as terrorist organizations.
Mass killings in Paris and Volnovakha have very much in common. Civilized world must stand united against terror.— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) January 13, 2015
Please share to make the world know our plea for support in fighting terrorism from DNR-LNR #JeSuisVolnovakha pic.twitter.com/Xh0YUSgJJw— Петро Порошенко (@poroshenko) January 14, 2015
Some members of the European Parliament have come out in support of the designation, while the U.S. State Department reportedly refused the request.
The separatists have denied responsibility for the bus attack and charged Kiev with staging it in a bid to smear them. Observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said in a report that the bus showed "damage consistent with a nearby rocket impact."
Additional reporting by the Associated Press.