Two rebel senior commanders battling Ukraine forces near the Russian border departed their posts on Thursday as Ukrainian military struck Luhansk and Donetsk, the separatists' main stronghold.

In a statement released on Thursday, former Donetsk PM Alexander Borodai said pro-Russian rebels' Defense Minister Colonel Igor Girkin, known also as Strelkov, resigned and transferred to another position. No further details were provided, Daily Times reported.

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While in the city of Luhansk, Valery Bolotov, who suffered injuries from a firefight, quit his post and offered the position to Luhansk rebels Defense minister Igor Plotnitskiy. Bolotov said he could no longer perform his duties due to his injuries.

Apart from the two senior leaders who resigned, Alexander Borodai, prime minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, also quit a week ago, reports confirmed.

Some reports also said artillery shells repeatedly rattled the rebel-held city of Donetsk for the first time since the rebellion against Ukraine government started. The Ukraine forces kept up its offensive to recover the separatist strongholds.

In the Donetsk shelling, around 25 people died while nine Ukrainian forces were killed with 18 injured among its troops, reports said.

During the battle, a massive Russian "humanitarian" convoy of nearly 300 trucks heading towards southeastern Ukraine was stopped in Russia’s Rostov region, Ukrainian media reported.

The representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said they still don’t know the convoy’s final destination. However, Russia insisted that the dispatch of the humanitarian convoy was coordinated with the ICRC and there are no military personnel on it.

There are continuous negotiations between the Ukrainian government and the ICRC on how to get the trucks cleared to enter Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

Simultaneously, Ukraine’s government provided some of its humanitarian aid for people in eastern Ukraine affected by the war.

TagsUkraine, Rebels, leaders, fire, convoy, Russia