Pro-Russian
separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko has announced plans to recruit 100,000
men, as fighting with Ukrainian forces intensifies.
The rebels want to push
government forces out of the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk and are
trying to capture the key town of Debaltseve.
Dozens of people including
civilians were killed in clashes and artillery fire at the weekend.
Attempts to agree a truce
failed when rebel negotiators did not turn up.
A fragile ceasefire agreed in
early September in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, collapsed last month when
rebels stepped up their offensive on several Ukrainian positions and seized
Donetsk airport.
Rebels were accused of carrying
out an artillery attack on the south-eastern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol
which left 30 civilians dead.
Ukrainian government forces
have been blamed for deadly attacks on Donetsk city and other rebel-held areas
last month in which dozens of civilians were also killed.
'Reserve
force'
"Mobilisation
will start in 11 days' time," Mr Zakharchenko, the head of the
self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, told Donetsk news agency.
However, the rebels'
ability to raise large numbers of forces is unclear.
Mr Zakharchenko's
statement could be political bluster or it could be an indication that Russia
plans to intervene more seriously in eastern Ukraine, BBC Kiev correspondent
David Stern reports.
Ukraine has alleged
the rebels are being helped by as many as 9,000 Russian servicemen, a claim the
government in Moscow denies.
The Donetsk rebel
leader emphasised that recruits to separatist forces would be voluntary,
Donetsk news agency said.
"It is a reserve
force which will definitely be able to resist any attack," he was quoted
as saying.
They would have a
month's combat training with the aim of providing five additional brigades, the
Donetsk agency reports.
Ukraine's government
has also announced plans to boost its forces in the east. Tanks and other heavy
military vehicles were seen heading towards Debaltseve on Sunday in an attempt
to bolster defences in the town.
Hundreds of civilians
were moved out of the town by Ukrainian government forces amid reports that the
separatists had reached the outskirts.
A Canadian journalist
who is in the conflict zone said the rebels had been involved in a tough battle
as they tried to encircle Debaltseve.
"It's been quite
surprising to hear how many have said they are experiencing significant losses
and many of their fellow fighters have been killed," Kristina Jovanovski
told the BBC World Service Newsday programme. "That's not something that
you often hear."
Military officials in
Kiev said on Monday that five soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours,
although separatists said the number was more than 20. Thirteen civilians were
killed in separatist-held areas during the same period, rebel sources said.
The latest fatalities
bring to at least 60 the number killed during a weekend of heavy violence in
the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
source, bbc news
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