At least nine Ukrainian soldiers have died and 29 others wounded over the last 24 hours in clashes with\u00a0pro-Russia\u00a0forces in the country\u2019s east, the military says.<\/p>\n
“Due to heavy fighting, long lasting shelling of our position, Ukraine has lost nine soldiers in a 24 hour period. Other 29 soldiers were wounded with varying degrees of severity,” military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said Tuesday.<\/p>\n
Seleznyov added that the clashes between Kiev government troops and pro-Russia\u00a0forces were most intense near the Donetsk region\u2019s northeastern city of Debaltseve.<\/p>\n
The latest casualties came a day after Ukraine\u2019s security council said seven soldiers were killed and 25 others wounded in the previous 24 hours.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, blamed the western-backed Kiev government for the fighting and called on its allies, especially the US, to “stop egging on the Ukrainian hawks, covering and justifying their inhumane actions.”<\/p>\n
This is while Kiev and its Western allies accuse Russia of having a hand in the chaotic situation in eastern Ukraine, a claim\u00a0Moscow categorically denies.<\/p>\n
The latest round of fighting in the eastern regions is at its worst level since a ceasefire was reached four months ago.<\/p>\n
Representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics inked a ceasefire deal last September in the Belarusian capital, Minsk. The truce has been almost daily violated by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine.<\/p>\n
Donetsk and Lugansk, in eastern Ukraine and with mainly Russian-speaking populations, have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev\u2019s military operation started in April 2014 in a bid to crush the protests.<\/p>\n
Violence intensified in May 2014 after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.<\/p>\n
The fighting has left more than 5,000 people killed and over 1.5 million displaced, the United Nations says.<\/p>\n
CAH\/HMV<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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