Ukraine’s army on Sunday cut off the main road to Slavyansk, tightening its siege of the flashpoint eastern city.
According to reports from witnesses outside the city about 160,000 people including seven Ukrainian armoured vehicles were seen setting up a checkpoint blocking the route to the regional capital Donetsk.
Slavyansk, which has become the epicentre of rebel activity in Ukraine’s increasingly chaotic eastern regions, has borne the brunt of a Ukrainian military offensive to regain control of more than a dozen towns under separatist control.
The military stepped up its operations around Slavyansk on Friday, launching an attack with armoured vehicles and helicopters that rebels said killed at least five people in the town.
Four Ukrainian servicemen were also killed in the raid and the rebels shot down two helicopter gunships.
The fighting which started at the outskirts of the city has witnessed the locals putting barricades around the centre to slow any army advance.