Pro-Russian separatists have been filmed carrying out patrols in a town they claim to have taken control of in eastern Ukraine.

Vuhlehirsk is not far from Debaltseve, a larger town the government in Kyiv is attempting to keep in the hands of Ukrainian forces.

Rebels have been advancing on the area, which is considered a key railway hub.

Many residents have now been evacuated from several towns in the line of fire.

At least five people are reported dead after the shelling of a hospital in rebel-controlled Donetsk.

Numerous people are reported to have been wounded.

One elderly woman was seen weeping at the scene. “There was a huge explosion,” she said. “I was hit and fell down.

“My son was walking here (pointing to a body on the ground, covered with a sheet). That’s my son!”

Eyewitnesses say at least one shell hit the building in territory controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

But other reports say two shells landed near the hospital.

At least one huge crater was