Artillery blasts rock Ukrainian city of Donetsk: Reuters witness

Artillery blasts rock Ukrainian city of Donetsk: Reuters witness

DONETSK Ukraine (Reuters) - Loud artillery explosions rocked the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on Wednesday, shortly after Kiev and Moscow said they had agreed on steps intended to end violence. A Reuters correspondent in Donetsk said the blasts could be heard in the northwest of the city, home to about 1 million people before the conflict began, and dark grey smoke was billowing from an area near the city airport. Ukraine said earlier on Wednesday that its president and Russian President Vladimir Putin had agreed on steps towards a ceasefire in Kiev's conflict with pro-Russian rebels, but the Kremlin denied Putin had agreed a ceasefire. (Reporting by Gabriela Bacynska,; Writing by Alissa de Carbonnel, Editing by Timothy Heritage)