Shelling kills at least 5 in eastern Ukraine

Heavy shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine on Wednesday killed at least five people and damaged a hospital and six schools, local officials said.

The rebel-run Donetsk News Agency reported five people killed inside and near the hospital in Tekstilshchik district. A Reuters cameraman saw three bodies — one near the hospital and two others on the street near neighboring buildings.

Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Seleznev said two government troops had been killed and 18 injured in the past 24 hours. The most intense fighting is now focused near the railway hub of Debaltseve where, according to Seleznev, the rebels mounted an offensive against Ukrainian troops.

After a month of relative calm, fighting between Russia-backed separatists and government troops in eastern Ukraine has intensified, killing more than 200 people in the past three weeks, according to the United Nations.

As the conflict escalates, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says he is confident the United States will agree to send weapons to his country to help it fight the rebels in the conflict that that has left 5,300 people dead.

President Barack Obama has opposed sending lethal assistance to Ukraine's government, but a senior administration official said earlier this week the surge in fighting has spurred the White House to review the policy.

Poroshenko will have an opportunity on Thursday to make his case to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who is scheduled to visit Kiev.

"I don't have a slightest doubt that the decision to supply Ukraine with weapons will be made by the United States as well as by other partners of ours," said Poroshenko on a visit to Kharkiv, "because we need to have the capabilities to defend ourselves."

Wire services