Fighting in Eastern Ukraine Resumes, Claims at Least 11 Victims

Ukraine | January 16, 2015, Friday // 17:54|  views

A man cleans a street near damaged in shops after shelling at a local market in Donetsk, Ukraine, 15 January 2015. Photo: EPA

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has been renewed with new intensity, claiming the lives of at least eleven people over the past day.

Military spokesperson Andriy Lysenko announced on Friday that at least six soldiers were killed and 18 were wounded in the past day, the Guardian reports.

According to Lysenko, a civilian was killed in a rebel strike on a checkpoint near Fashchivka in the region of Luhansk.

Earlier, it was announced that four civilians were killed after a shelling in Donetsk led to a fire in a warehouse.

The latest round of violence broke out on Thursday near the airport of Donetsk, which is of symbolic and strategic importance, but clashes have been reported in other parts of eastern Ukraine as well.

The pro-Russian separatists claimed on Thursday that they had captured Donetsk airport, but government forces dismissed this on Friday.

Heavy artillery and shelling prevented the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) monitoring mission to reach the airport on Thursday.

The OSCE mission warned of civilian casualties and said that one of its patrols came under direct fire in the coastal city of Mariupol.

A rocket exploded near a commuter bus on its way to Donetsk on Tuesday, killing 13 people, the Guardian reminds.

Both sides have accused themselves of being responsible for the bus incident.

A summit of the so-called Normandy format between the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany had been scheduled to take place in Astana this week, but was postponed.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that it was pointless to hold a summit while fighting continues.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko and his counterpart from Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev announced on Thursday that the postponed talks could take place in Astana at the end of the month.

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Tags: Ukraine, Donetsk, Luhansk, fighting, violence, OSCE, Russia, France, Germany, Kazakhstan, Astana, Petro Poroshenko, Angela Merkel, rebels, Normandy format, summit

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