Mariupol

(Newser) - Human rights abuses are escalating in Ukraine's contested East, the UN warned in a report today. It's the second monthly assessment of the situation, the BBC reports, and there's been an "alarming deterioration" since the first. The lowlights include:

• Minority Tatars in Crimea are facing harassment

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(Newser) - Ukrainian special forces, backed by helicopters and at least 10 armored vehicles, have launched an offensive near the separatist-held city of Slovyansk. So far the fighting has been at checkpoints outside the city, where the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said military and police had killed "up to five terrorists."...