Fresh clashes kill army soldier in east Ukraine

The Ukrainian military has announced the death of one of its soldiers in fresh clashes with pro-Russia forces operating in the country’s troubled east.

Oleksandr Motuzyanyk, a spokesman for Ukraine's military, said on Sunday that the clashes occurred near a village right on the borderline between the warring sides, some 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of Donetsk.

Motuzyanyk said Ukrainian soldiers in the village of Zaitseve were attacked on Saturday with mortar fire for 10 minutes.

He said the Ukrainian forces had pushed back around 100 pro-Russia forces who had raided Ukrainian military's positions near the town of Gorlivka.

This is while the pro-Russians accused the Ukrainian army of 17 ceasefire violations over the last 24 hours.

On September 1, the warring sides pledged anew to implement a ceasefire agreement that had been reached in the Belarusian capital city of Minsk in February.

Kiev and the pro-Russia forces have repeatedly accused each other of delays and violations of the truce.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a report that its observers were prevented on Saturday from approaching 12 howitzers in the village of Yurivka southwest of Lugansk, in violation of an arms withdrawal agreement.

The warring sides are required under the Minsk ceasefire deal to withdraw military equipment 15 kilometers behind the front lines.

According to the United Nations, over 8,000 people have perished in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk since conflict broke out in April 2014.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk