All-out war fears grow in Ukraine

Armoured convoys headed to bolster rebel positions in east Ukraine yesterday as shelling rocked separatist stronghold Donetsk and fears mounted of a return to full-scale fighting.Reflecting growing concerns, the European Union's foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said reports of military reinforcements in Ukraine's separatist areas were a "very worrying development" and called on Russia to prevent further movement of "troops, weapons and equipment."Shelling rumbled on throughout the afternoon on the edge of Donetsk, where government forces regularly exchange heavy fire with insurgent fighters, but was less intense than overnight when mortar fire was heard close to the centre for around two hours, an AFP journalist reported.It was among the fiercest combat in the city since the September 5 signing of a frequently-violated ceasefire that halted all-out confrontations across most of the conflict zone but failed to end constant bombardments at strategic hotspots.

An AFP crew saw a convoy of 20 military vehicles and 14 howitzer cannons without number plates or markings driving through the rebel town of Makiivka in the direction of the nearby frontline around Donetsk.The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) voiced concern Saturday after its monitors witnessed unmarked columns of tanks and troop carriers moving through east Ukraine in territory held by pro-Russia separatists.The OSCE reports from the east came as fears mounted of a total breakdown in the two-month truce, with the war having already killed some 4,000 people.The conflict has sent relations between Western backers of Ukraine and Russia to their lowest level in decades.The last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, said at an event Saturday marking the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that the world "is on the brink of a new Cold War" sparked by Ukraine.Russia's economy is suffering from European Union and US sanctions imposed in response to Moscow's support for the separatists. With Russia welcoming last week's rebel elections,  the sanctions look set to remain in place -- and possibly be reinforced.