Ukraine loses eight troops in clashes with pro-Russia rebels – Newspaper …
KYIV: Ukraine lost eight soldiers on Wednesday in a dramatic spike in fighting with pro-Russian gunmen that further imperilled a truce Washington’s top European envoy is desperately trying to salvage in Kyiv.
Separatist rebels also reported the death of two fighters and a civilian in shelling across the eastern industrial heartland of the former Soviet nation that took a decisive tilt toward the West more than a year ago.
The resulting crisis has created waves of concern across Europe and sparked the most serious confrontation between Moscow and the West since the Cold War.
The Kremlin denies backing the militias in an act of revenge for the February 2014 ouster of a Moscow-backed president that was soon followed by Russia’s seizure of Crimea and the onset of one of Europe’s worst conflicts in decades.
Kyiv’s Security Council said early on Wednesday that the previous 24 hours had witnessed “some of the most intense bombardments of Ukrainian territory since the signing of the Minsk (truce) agreement” in February.
It said 16 servicemen had also been wounded but failed to specify where the most deadly exchanges of heavy weapons fire had broken out.
“The latest events are proof of yet another attempt by Russia and its puppet to wreck the Minsk agreement and restart active military hostilities,” the Ukrainian Security Council said.
The insurgents said on their main website that the number of Ukrainian attacks had more than doubled to 85 from the 35 recorded on Tuesday.The United Nations believes that more than 6,500 people have died and nearly 1.5 million been left homeless by unceasing violence that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had vowed to resolve within days of
being elected in May 2014.
But the Western-backed leader has instead seen the insurgents cement control over their holdings in the Russian-border regions of Lugansk and Donetsk.
Kyiv and Washington accuse Russia of plotting periodic ground offensives that it backs up with tanks and rocket launchers as well as highly-trained military personnel.
Western reporters have also witnessed unmarked armoured vehicles crossing from Russia into southeastern Ukraine.
Moscow brusquely brushes off such charges as fabrications designed to discredit Russian President Vladimir Putin and
distract from alleged Western meddling in Ukraine.
Putin calls Russians fighting in Ukraine patriotic volunteers and off-duty soldiers who are following “the call of their heart”.
Yet the veteran Russian leader and Poroshenko reluctantly put their names on a February truce deal that was personally promoted by Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande.
Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2015
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