KIEV, Ukraine
Up to 10,000 Russian soldiers are fighting against the Ukrainian army in the eastern regions of the country, a major-general from the Ukrainian General Staff said on Thursday.
Major-general Aleksandr Rozmaznin said in a statement that the Ukrainian army is fighting against more than 32,000 pro-Russian separatists, six to 10,000 of which are Russian soldiers.
He said that, aside from the Russian soldiers, thousands of Russian citizens are also participating in the fighting.
Rozmaznin added that around a thousand foreign volunteers, including those coming from U.S., France, and Russia, are helping the Ukrainian Army in fighting terrorist groups.
A new cease-fire between pro-Russian separatists in Luhansk in far-east Ukraine and the Ukrainian army is set to begin on Friday, Dec. 5., the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe said this week.
The previous cease-fire between Kiev and pro-Russian separatists was signed on Sept. 5 in Minsk, but it was violated numerous times and the conflict which has left thousands dead continued.
Between mid-April and Oct. 6, at least 3,600 people have died and 8,700 people have been injured during the conflict between the Ukrainian government and rebels, the UN Human Rights Office said in a report in October.
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