Ukrainian government forces at the weekend increased shelling of the outskirts of Donetsk, the rebel stronghold, and are pushing their way into the city.

Colonel Andriy Lysenko, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council information center spokesman, Saturday told a press conference in Kiev that Ukraine Armed Forces units had taken position in the suburbs of Horlivka, Donetsk region, and the city's liberation opens the direct way to the Donbas capital - Donetsk.

The city center of Donetsk was deserted over the weekend with only a few pedestrians and vehicles, as local residents have fled the city. Almost all shops, restaurants, supermarkets and banks were closed, and only few are still operating.

Fighting was intense around the city. Artillery shells from the northern suburbs of the city could be heard from the city center, with black smoke billowing. Shell fire from government forces was heard intermittently throughout the day over the weekend, while previously shelling only took place at night.

One Donetsk resident, who gave her name as Nasja and who lives close to the train station, told the Global Times Sunday that she heard shelling and machine gun fire all night. There was no significant presence of pro-Russian rebel fighters in the city center over the weekend, Sunday evening, when a few militant vehicles drove through the downtown. Mostly, the rebels  remained at block posts, made of concrete, tires and sand bags, on the edges of the city center.

At the Donetsk People's Republic headquarters Sunday evening, militants said the truce covering a 40-kilometer radius from the MH17 crash site is still in effect.