Ukraine says 2 soldiers killed in Donetsk shelling
Ukraine says two of its soldiers have been killed and eight injured in shelling in the eastern volatile region of Donetsk.
According to a statement issued by the Ukrainian Defense Ministry late Friday, the shelling had occurred in the past 24 hours in the city of Maryinka, which is the scene of regular clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Thursday that his administration might introduce martial law and a fresh wave of military mobilization if the conflict worsens.
Ukraine’s military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk also announced Thursday that the pro-Russians “launched more than 500 mortar and over 300 artillery shells at our positions.”
People in Ukraine’s Black Sea peninsula of Crimea voted for rejoining the Russian Federation in a referendum in March 2014. The West branded the move as Moscow’s annexation of the territory. The United States and its allies in Europe accuse Moscow of having a hand in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Russia, however, strongly denies the charges.
In April 2014, the government in Kiev launched the first round of military operations in Ukraine’s eastern regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, which are populated mostly by pro-Russians, to crush anti-government protests there. The operations, however, led to deadly clashes between the two sides.
Violence subsided after a ceasefire agreement was reached in February 2015. However, sporadic clashes continued.
The new tensions in August have raised fears that the fragile ceasefire could collapse, as both sides experience the deadliest month of fighting.
The crisis in eastern Ukraine has left nearly 9,500 people dead and over 21,000 others injured, according to the United Nations.
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