Kiev , Ukraine ( CNN ) -- Civilians , including women and children , have been killed in an attack on a caravan of refugees in Ukraine 's eastern Luhansk region , the Ukrainian military said Monday . The civilians were trying to escape fighting between pro-Russian rebels and the Ukrainian military but were not in an established humanitarian safety corridor when they came under fire , a military representative said . The civilians were being escorted by the Ukrainian military from the towns of Khryaschuvate and Novosvitlivka when they were attacked at 9:40 a.m. local time ( 2:40 a.m . ET ) , the Kiev-recognized Luhansk Regional Government said . A government representative confirmed that there had been `` heavy gunfire '' in the area and that the victims had been unable to call for help as mobile phone towers were down . Ukrainian Col. Andriy Lysenko told CNN that `` terrorists '' had attacked the caravan with guns from Russia . Lysenko later told media that preliminary information indicated that the attack had been an ambush . The caravan was almost destroyed , and tens of people were killed , he said . Lysenko said that people had been registering to leave with the caravan for several days before the attack . Ukraine 's state information agency reported that Grad launchers and mortars had been fired at those trying to leave the war zone . There had been 25 battles in the past 24 hours , with government forces regaining part of the city of Luhansk , Lysenko said . `` Luhansk is almost fully encircled , and the operation to free it is going on right now , '' he said . The rebels had used Uragan rocket launchers for the first time , Lysenko said . Ukraine on Sunday reported gains against the rebels , saying the army had entered Donetsk and raised the Ukrainian flag in front of the district 's police offices . Ukrainian forces also regained control of the strategic town of Yasynuvata in Donetsk in the southeastern part of the country , according to the official Twitter account of President Petro Poroshenko . On Monday , Russian state-run news agency RIA Novosti reported that the self-styled Donetsk People 's Republic had announced the death penalty would be introduced `` for the gravest crimes . '' Once the war ended , the group would step `` on the path of humanization of the criminal law , '' RIA Novosti quoted a DPR minister as saying , after a meeting of its council Sunday . Humanitarian agencies say thousands of people in the region do n't have access to water , electricity and proper medical aid . Ongoing fighting downed power lines and stopped Donetsk city 's water treatment plant from working Sunday , the City Council said . The Donetsk City Council announced on its website that the water supply would be cut off starting at 9 p.m. local time ( 2 p.m . ET ) . In a new statement Monday , it said the supply remained disrupted , with fighting hindering repairs . Ukrainian officials acknowledged Sunday that a convoy of more than 260 Russian vehicles on the border is , in fact , carrying humanitarian aid , a statement on the Ukrainian Cabinet website said . Ukraine received an inventory of the supplies Saturday , which was signed by the head of the regional International Committee of the Red Cross ( ICRC ) delegation to Russia . But Col. Lysenko said Monday that failure to reach an agreement on safety with the ICRC had prevented a detailed inspection . The convoy initially sparked fears that Russia was trying to use a humanitarian convoy as a cover for sending in more aid and weapons for pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine , which Russia and the rebels denied . The ongoing fighting -- sparked last year by a political crisis over whether Ukraine would seek closer ties with Europe or Russia -- has left more than 2,000 people dead and just under 5,000 wounded in eastern Ukraine since mid-April , according to estimates from U.N. officials . What 's happening in Ukraine ? Progress reported in cease-fire talks . The foreign ministers of Ukraine , Russia , Germany and France met in Berlin on Sunday to discuss the crisis in Ukraine . `` We discussed the question of how we can find ways to reach an urgently needed cease-fire in eastern Ukraine , '' German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said . `` We discussed the question of how we can improve and optimize controls at the Russian-Ukrainian border . '' Steinmeir said progress had been made in certain areas and the parties were looking at further talks . Russia 's Foreign Ministry released a statement saying the talks focused on `` the earliest possible termination of the hostilities , border control , humanitarian aid delivery to southeastern Ukraine , and creating the conditions for the earliest beginning of the process of political settlement . '' `` Some progress was made on all these issues , '' it said . The United States and the European Union have applied steadily increasing sanctions against Russian officials , banks and other interests since March , when Russia annexed the Black Sea Ukrainian peninsula of Crimea . Russia 's move came a month after Ukraine 's parliament ousted pro-Moscow President Viktor Yanukovych . Yanukovych left office after violent protests against his government in the capital , Kiev . Those protests were motivated in part by his decision to back out of a trade deal with the European Union in favor of closer ties with Russia . Aid or invasion ? Question looms as Russian convoy nears Ukraine . Opinion : Why Vladimir Putin is n't going to make peace . CNN 's Will Ripley and Victoria Butenko reported from Kiev .
They came under attack in Luhansk on Monday , Ukrainian officials say . A military spokesman says ` ` terrorists '' killed civilians , including women and children . Col . Andriy Lysenko says government forces have regained part of the city . He says pro - Russian rebels used Uragan rocket launchers in fighting for the first time .