US wants weapons to be withdrawn from conflict line in Ukraine

Ben Rhodes, deputy national security adviser for strategic communication for US President Barack Obama, said that the US wanted the sides of the Ukrainian conflict to withdraw weapons from the contact line and stop the violence that had been increasing in the past 24-48 hours, RIA Novosti reports.

The rebels started an offensive in Marinka and Krasnogorovka near Donetsk on Wednesday-Thursday night. Donetsk Defense Minister Vladimir Kononov blamed the Ukrainian authorities for the violence.