2 Ukrainian soldiers killed near Donetsk
Casualties first in three weeks; Military also reports three wounded
KYIV, Jan. 31 – Two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the country’s war-torn east, the first reported casualties in nearly three weeks, Ukraine’s military said Sunday, AFP reported.
“Over the last day, as a result of clashes one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded,” military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists.
He was killed by mortar fire on the outskirts of Gorlivka, some 19 miles northeast of the rebels’ de facto capital Donetsk, Motuzyanyk said.
The spokesman said the other Ukrainian soldier was killed when his vehicle hit a makeshift explosive device, which also injured another serviceman.
Over 9,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured in the conflict in Ukraine since April 2014, according to the United Nations.
Kyiv and the West have accused Russia of supporting the insurgency and sending regular troops across the border, claims that Moscow has repeatedly denied.
A series of truce agreements have helped to significantly reduce the fighting, although sporadic clashes continue on the frontline.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said a week ago that Ukraine will not give its eastern regions greater autonomy until a lasting ceasefire with pro-Russian separatist rebels is in place.
Any attempt to delay the reform may threaten to derail the peace process, which was already under strain. Both Ukrainian troops and the pro-Russian rebels have complained of rising ceasefire violations since the tail end of 2015.
After a period of relative calm, both rebels and the Ukrainian government have complained of more violations of the ceasefire negotiated as part of the Minsk deal. Both say heavy artillery that was meant to have been withdrawn is being used.
The leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia negotiated the Minsk peace deal in February and the West has tied its implementation to any loosening of economic sanctions on Russia. (afp/ez)