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60 Ukraine army troops killed in east: Donetsk official

Tuesday, 17 February 2015 9:51 AM [ Last Update: Tuesday, 17 February 2015 9:51 AM ]

Ukrainian servicemen sitting on an armored vehicle at a checkpoint in the Donetsk region on February 16, 2015. (© AFP)

A Donetsk official says 60 Ukrainian soldiers and two pro-Russia militiamen have been killed in the country’s volatile east on the second day of a new ceasefire.

A spokesman for the defense ministry of the self-declared Donetsk People’s (DPR) said the losses happened in Monday clashes in areas around the eastern flashpoint city of Debaltseve, TASS Russia News Agency reported.

The official blamed the fighting on the Ukrainian military, saying it shelled DPR positions, which drew pro-Russian gunfire.

“During the day, Ukrainian troops shelled DPR army’s positions in Logvinovo and nearby localities from Lugansk and Debaltseve," said the spokesman, adding, "On separate occasions, we were forced to fire back at the Ukrainian artillery’s positions, from where shelling was opened. Moreover, Ukrainian troops never stopped gun and mortar fire around Debaltseve."

According to the official, the Ukrainian military lost two tanks, seven infantry carriers, five artillery systems, six cars and a number of armored vehicles, while the DPR forces lost three infantry carriers.

East Ukraine ceasefire deal

The fighting came despite a new truce, which officially came into effect on at 22:00 GMT on February 14, after the leader of Germany, France, Ukraine and Russia, reached an agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk earlier in the week.

During the talks held on February 11-12, the leaders of the quartet agreed on the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from Ukraine’s front lines - a move which has yet to be made by both sides.

Back in September 2014, representatives of Ukraine, Russia, and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk signed another ceasefire deal in Minsk. However, the truce was violated on an almost daily basis by both the Ukrainian military and pro-Russia forces, thus failing to deliver any practical result.

Source of conflict

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia forces and the Ukrainian army since Kiev launched military operations in April last year to crush pro-Russia protests there.

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.

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