Ukraine military plane hit by gunfire above rebel-held town

Kiev, Ukraine: A Ukrainian military surveillance plane was hit and damaged by small arms fire as it was on a reconnaissance flight over the rebel-held eastern town of Slavyansk, the defence ministry said on Tuesday.

The plane, a propellor-driven Antonov An-30, safely made an emergency landing, a ministry spokesman told AFP. None of its crew members was hurt.

"Thanks to the professional actions, military pilots managed to land the plane at the airfield without consequences," the ministry said in a statement. "After a thorough examination and diagnosis, aircraft combat capability was fully restored."

The attack occurred just hours after US Vice President Joe Biden left Ukraine's capital at the end of a two-day visit pledging Washington's support to Kiev's fledgling leaders.

The Ukrainian government and the United States see Russia as fuelling the separatist crisis, pushing East-West relations to their most critical point since the Cold War.

Pro-Kremlin rebels holding Slavyansk and a string of other eastern towns are ignoring a Geneva agreement between the Ukraine, Russia and the West to lay down their weapons and surrender occupied public buildings.