In the heavily bombarded eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, convoys of tanks and armoured personnel carriers, including French and British vehicles, speed along the road to and from Bakhmut, which soldiers said was under constant shelling. Soldiers taking a break from the front are sheltering in cellars near the far edge of Chasiv Yar, next to the road to Bakhmut. There were near-constant explosions from shelling and black smoke rose from an area of private houses nearby. In the centre of Chasiv Yar, there was a huge crater in a grassy area outside a 3-storey block of flats, which had shattered windows. Another explosion had ripped through school buildings that been used previously to distribute humanitarian aid. Soldiers said that both were caused by aerial bombing the day before. IMAGES