ANKARA
Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed in clashes with pro-Russian separatists in the last 24 hours, authorities said Monday.
Ukrainian counterterrorism center spokesman Andrey Lisenko said four other soldiers had also been injured in clashes that erupted in eastern Ukraine.
Lisenko said that pro-Russian separatists attacked the Ukrainain soldiers with heavy weapons.
He also said that two Ukrainian soldiers were taken hostage by pro-Russian separatists in Mariinka district, near Donetsk.
Separately, Eduard Basurin from the Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said that the Ukrainian army had attacked Gorlovka, Golmovki and Shirokino, near Donetsk. He said that two civilians were killed and five others were injured.
Parties in conflict signed the Minsk cease-fire agreement on Feb. 12, which includes the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, and of all foreign armed formations; the release of all hostages and unlawfully detained persons as well as political reforms and decentralization in the eastern Ukrainian regions.
However, the agreement has failed to be implemented fully, with daily reports of breaches and clashes, and both parties blaming each other for violating the accord.
At least 6,417 people have been killed in more than 13 months of fighting in eastern Ukraine, the United Nations said Monday in a report, adding that more than 300 people had been killed since mid-April.
