The Ukrainian national guard has launched an offensive against pro-Russian separatists near the strategic southeastern port city of Mariupol, Interfax quoted Ukraine's security council as saying on Tuesday, according to Reuters.
The secretary to the National Security and Defence Council, Oleksander Turchynov, 'is near Mariupol, where units of the national guard broke through enemy defences and went on the offensive', the security council was quoted as saying in a statement.