Two Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the latest uptick in fighting with pro-Russian separatists in the country's war-torn east, a Kiev military official said Saturday.
"As a result of fighting two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and another eight were wounded," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists.
He accused the pro-Russian separatist rebels of using banned heavy weaponry over the past 24 hours, saying there were almost no quiet areas on the frontline.
In a separate incident, another three Ukrainian officers were wounded in a blast caused by an unidentified explosive device, he added.
Motuzyanyk reported that the government-held town of Avdiivka, some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the rebels' de facto capital Do netsk, came under fire from 82- and 120- millimeter caliber mortars.
These and other kinds of heavy weapons are prohibited under the peace agreements aimed at ending the 23-month conflict.
More than 9,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured since the revolt against Ukraine's new pro-Western leadership erupted in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.
A series of truce agreements have helped to reduce the fighting, although sporadic clashes continue on the front-line.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the insurgents and sending regular troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies.
"As a result of fighting two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and another eight were wounded," Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists.
He accused the pro-Russian separatist rebels of using banned heavy weaponry over the past 24 hours, saying there were almost no quiet areas on the frontline.
In a separate incident, another three Ukrainian officers were wounded in a blast caused by an unidentified explosive device, he added.
Motuzyanyk reported that the government-held town of Avdiivka, some 10 kilometers (six miles) north of the rebels' de facto capital Do netsk, came under fire from 82- and 120- millimeter caliber mortars.
These and other kinds of heavy weapons are prohibited under the peace agreements aimed at ending the 23-month conflict.
More than 9,000 people have been killed and more than 20,000 injured since the revolt against Ukraine's new pro-Western leadership erupted in eastern Ukraine in April 2014.
A series of truce agreements have helped to reduce the fighting, although sporadic clashes continue on the front-line.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the insurgents and sending regular troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies.
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