Another day of deadly clashes in eastern Ukraine
At least seven people, including civilians, have been killed in fresh clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces in the country’s volatile east over the past 24 hours.
The regional government of Ukraine’s eastern province of Lugansk, which is loyal to the government in Kiev, said on Wednesday that mortar and grenade attacks left one civilian and one soldier dead.
Meanwhile, pro-Russia forces said three civilians were killed in the city of Horlivka, located in the eastern region of Donetsk.
According to emergency workers, an 11-year-old girl and her father were among the victims in Horlivka after their home was hit by shells. A woman and two children were also pulled alive from under rubble in the city.
The pro-Russians also stated that two of their members were killed in the fresh fighting with Ukrainian soldiers.
The clashes are seen as a violation of a truce agreement reached between Ukraine’s warring sides in Belarus. The Minsk agreement of February introduced the pullout of heavy weapons from the conflict region among other measures. The deal has failed to halt violence at key hot spots.
Ukrainian servicemen walk to their positions as workers dig trenches on the frontline of fighting with pro-Russia forces near the city of Artemivsk, Donetsk region, May 26, 2015. (© AFP)
On April 15, 2014, the Ukrainian army launched its first formal military action against pro-Russians in control of government buildings in towns and cities across the eastern region, mainly Lugansk and Donetsk. Residents in the two regions are mostly ethnic Russians.
Kiev’s move came against the backdrop of the Russian parliament’s approval of Ukraine’s Crimea rejoining Russia after residents of the peninsula voted in favor of the move in a March 16 referendum the same year.
The United Nations says more than 6,100 people have died in the conflict so far.
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