KIEV: Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and six injured in a fresh upsurge of fighting between pro-Russian rebels and government forces in the country’s separatist east, the Kiev military said on Sunday.
“As a result of hostilities, three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another six wounded over the past 24 hours”, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told reporters.
He said the situation along the frontline “had escalated again”, accusing separatists of ramping up attacks against the Kiev military and using heavy weapons.
“The invaders are actively using mortars and armoured vehicles along the entire frontline”, he said.
The new casualties came after three Ukrainian soldiers were killed by pro-Russian rebels in a mortar attack earlier this week, in the deadliest attack in nearly two months, the Kiev military said.
A series of truce agreements have helped reduce the violence, although sporadic clashes continue and prevent the sides from reaching a firm political reconciliation deal.
Around 9,200 people have died and more than 21,000 been injured since the revolt against Ukraine’s pro-Western leadership erupted in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the insurgents and sending regular troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s defence minister Stepan Poltorak warned it may take years to end a war that plunged Moscow’s relations with the West to a post-Cold War low.
