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Ukrainian soldier, two civilians killed in clashes: Army

Sunday, 27 December 2015 7:08 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 28 December 2015 11:23 AM ]

Ukrainian servicemen stand next to a 85 mm "Vasilyok" automatic mortar in Peski Village, in the Donetsk region, on November 7, 2015 before a weapons withdrawal. (Photo by AFP)

One Ukrainian soldier and two civilians have been killed in fresh clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces in the country’s troubled east, military officials from the two sides say.

"Over the past 24 hours ... one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another three were wounded," said Ukraine's military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk on Sunday, adding that the clashes occurred near the village of Zaitseve some 55 kilometers (34 miles) north of the city of Donetsk.

He claimed that pro-Russia forces had deployed light weapons, grenade launchers, machine guns, mortar launchers, and a tank against the Kiev forces in the area despite a truce agreement.

As a result of the shelling, an elderly woman who had suffered severe shrapnel wounds died on the way to hospital, Motuzyanyk said.

Meanwhile, the military spokesman for pro-Russia forces, Eduard Basurin, also said that two civilians, a man and a woman, were killed in the same village; however, it was unclear if the two sides had reported the death of the same woman.

The victims are considered the first after a truce for the New Year holidays was approved by the two sides on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said in a statement that that its team of observers had come under small-arms fire attack on Sunday but managed to leave the area immediately with no injuries.

The incident occurred in Kominternove, a village about 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Mariupol, a strategically key port city in the Donetsk region.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack but Basurin has reportedly said that the shots had been fired by the Ukrainian government forces.

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.

The conflict in Ukraine broke out in March 2014 following a referendum in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in which people voted overwhelmingly for reunification with Russia.

The situation, however, degenerated into a major armed conflict after Kiev dispatched troops to Lugansk and Donetsk in April 2014 in an attempt to suppress pro-Russia forces there.

Some 8,000 people have been killed and almost 18,000 injured since the beginning of the conflict, according to UN figures.

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