Ukraine peace talks aborted as civilians die in east

Vladislav Deinego, representative of the separatist self-proclaimed Luhansk republic, speaks to the media before leaving Belarus at Minsk's International airport January 30, 2015. REUTERS/Vasily Fedosenko

DONETSK, Ukraine/MINSK (Reuters) - Civilians were killed on both sides in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine on Friday, while an attempt to reopen peace talks in neighbouring Belarus was aborted before it began.

Rebel delegates flew to the Belarus capital Minsk, only to announce that no talks would take place on Friday and they were flying straight back to Moscow. Any talks would be the first since a five-month-old ceasefire collapsed with a new rebel advance last week.