AMNESTY International accused both sides in the Ukraine conflict yesterday of using illegal weapons such as cluster bombs in the year-long war.

“Taking into account everything we understand for now, we think that they were used by both sides,” senior director for research Anna Neistat said.

In its annual report, Amnesty also said that both sides were to blame for the high number of civilian deaths stemming from the indiscriminate firing of unguided mortars and rockets in populated areas.

Nearly 5,800 people have been killed since the fighting was sparked in April by the fascist-led overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych’s presidency.

“Both sides failed to take reasonable precautions to protect civilians, in violation of the laws of war,” said Ms Neistat.

She said that Amnesty had recorded abductions, torture and summary killings by fascist-led volunteer battalions on the government side and by units fighting with the Donetsk and Lugansk people’s republican forces.

Kiev persisted yesterday with its campaign of blaming its opponents for ongoing fighting in eastern Ukraine, although military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Anatoliy Stelmakh said that rebel ceasefire violations had fallen off in recent days.

The anti-fascist resistance insists that it has already begun pulling back its heavy artillery.

However, Lt-Col Stelmakh commented: “For a second day, we observe a reduction in shelling but the last day was not a ceasefire.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned again yesterday that Moscow will cut gas supplies to Ukraine if it fails to pay in advance for future deliveries.

He said that Ukraine’s latest payment would only be good for another three to four days, warning that the rupture may disrupt transit to Europe.

Following a bruising price and debt dispute, Russia and Ukraine signed a deal in October requiring Kiev to pay in advance for gas shipments.

Russia accused Ukraine last week of cutting gas supplies to liberated areas in the east.

It then started direct supplies to the east, saying that these should be counted as part of the overall volume of its gas exports.

Kiev has rejected that argument, saying that it can’t control gas distribution in areas outside its control.