Ukraine Crisis: 9 Civilians Killed In Luhanska As Pro-Russia Rebels, Army Trade Blame

At least nine civilians have been killed during an attack in eastern Ukraine that pro-Russian rebels blamed on the Ukrainian army.

Kiev denied being behind the attack and instead said the rebels were responsible for the violence in the village of Luhanska, in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, the BBC reported Wednesday.

A cease-fire called by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko was short-lived, ending Monday as fighting intensified between pro-Russian rebels and Ukrainian forces.

Talks in Berlin among the foreign ministers of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France began Wednesday in an attempt to bring peace to the region and renew the cease-fire.

"We will not stop looking for diplomatic solutions," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said, according to Reuters. "But we are nowhere near where we want to be."

Before the meeting began, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said a cease-fire is needed to calm tensions in eastern Ukraine.

"Only when the guns fall silent, only on the basis of a robust cease-fire, are negotiations on resolving the crisis imaginable," he said, according to the BBC.