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New clashes kill army soldier in east Ukraine: Military

Sunday, 21 February 2016 5:28 PM [ Last Update: Sunday, 21 February 2016 5:27 PM ]

A Ukrainian soldier is seen near Troitske Village, in Lugansk region, on August 20, 2015. (Photo by AFP)

The Ukrainian military has announced the death of one of its soldiers in new 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 in the town of Marinka, a new flashpoint located 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Donetsk.

He said the soldier was killed by sniper fire.

Describing the town as “insecure,” Motuzyanyk accused the pro-Russians of violating a shaky truce agreement over the past 24 hours.

The internationally-brokered peace deal, which was signed between Kiev and the representatives of Donetsk and Lugansk regions in February 2015, has been violated on an almost daily basis.

On Saturday, the Ukrainian government and the pro-Russia forces exchanged nine prisoners in a swap.

According to the United Nations, over 9,000 people have lost their lives and some 20,000 have been injured in the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which erupted when Kiev launched military operations in April 2014 to crush pro-Russia protests there.

Kiev and its allies, including the United States, have accused Russia of arming and supporting the pro-Russia forces fighting in eastern Ukraine for greater autonomy. Russia has rejected the accusations as groundless.

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