Two Ukrainian soldiers and one rebel have been killed in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, officials said Monday, as both sides traded blame over increasing ceasefire violations.
Two Ukrainian troops died and three more were wounded after their armoured vehicle hit a mine in the Lugansk region, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said.
Two more soldiers were wounded in clashes near the village of Shyrokyne near the strategic port of Mariupol, the last major city in the conflict zone controlled by Kiev, he added.
In rebel-held territory, pro-Russian separatists said they lost one man and that six more were injured, senior rebel official Eduard Baturin told local reporters.
Each side accused the other of violating a fragile ceasefire brokered by the West and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk in February.
Officials in Kiev accused pro-Moscow militants of violating the ceasefire 95 times on Sunday alone.
"This is nearly the same level as before the conclusion of the Minsk agreements," they said in a statement, claiming that the rebels provoked Ukranian forces by using heavy artillery.
Rebels for their part pointed the finger at Ukrainian troops, saying Kiev violated the truce 70 times over the past 24 hours by using tanks, grenade and mortar launchers.
Ukrainian authorities believe pro-Moscow rebels may stage an offensive after May 9, when Russia and Ukraine are set to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany.
Kiev and the West have accused the Kremlin of supporting the rebels and sending troops over the border, but Washington and Brussels appear reluctant to send weapons or troops to Ukraine for fear of an escalation.
In February, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel helped broker a peace deal for Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to stop months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces.
The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced a million, the UN says.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) condemned Sunday's ceasefire violations, voicing "serious concern over the use of proscribed heavy weapons".
Two Ukrainian soldiers and one rebel have been killed in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, officials said Monday, as both sides traded blame over increasing ceasefire violations.
Two Ukrainian troops died and three more were wounded after their armoured vehicle hit a mine in the Lugansk region, military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk said.
Two more soldiers were wounded in clashes near the village of Shyrokyne near the strategic port of Mariupol, the last major city in the conflict zone controlled by Kiev, he added.
In rebel-held territory, pro-Russian separatists said they lost one man and that six more were injured, senior rebel official Eduard Baturin told local reporters.
Each side accused the other of violating a fragile ceasefire brokered by the West and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Minsk in February.
Officials in Kiev accused pro-Moscow militants of violating the ceasefire 95 times on Sunday alone.
“This is nearly the same level as before the conclusion of the Minsk agreements,” they said in a statement, claiming that the rebels provoked Ukranian forces by using heavy artillery.
Rebels for their part pointed the finger at Ukrainian troops, saying Kiev violated the truce 70 times over the past 24 hours by using tanks, grenade and mortar launchers.
Ukrainian authorities believe pro-Moscow rebels may stage an offensive after May 9, when Russia and Ukraine are set to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union’s victory over Nazi Germany.
Kiev and the West have accused the Kremlin of supporting the rebels and sending troops over the border, but Washington and Brussels appear reluctant to send weapons or troops to Ukraine for fear of an escalation.
In February, French President Francois Hollande and German Chancellor Angela Merkel helped broker a peace deal for Ukraine in a last-ditch effort to stop months of fighting between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev forces.
The conflict has killed more than 6,000 people and displaced a million, the UN says.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) condemned Sunday’s ceasefire violations, voicing “serious concern over the use of proscribed heavy weapons”.
