Twelve killed in fresh clashes in Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Sun Jul 13, 2014 5:47PM GMT
Fresh clashes between pro-Russia forces and Ukrainian troops in eastern Ukraine have left at least a dozen civilians dead.
Officials say six people were killed in the city of Marinka in the suburbs of the eastern city of Donetsk on Saturday. Elsewhere in neighboring Lugansk region, authorities say six died in various overnight incidents.
The escalation of violence has also forced Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to cancel a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Brazil.
Fresh tension between Ukraine and Russia sparked Sunday after an artillery shell fired from Ukraine hit a residential area in Russia's Rostov region, killing a 46-year-old man and injuring two others.
Russia's Foreign Ministry described the incident as another "act of aggression" by Ukraine towards sovereign Russian territory, saying it could have "irreversible consequences" for Ukraine.
The fatal incident came a day after a vehicle carrying a squad of Russian border guards came under fire from the Ukrainian side in the Rostov region's Kuibyshev district. Officials said no Russian guards were injured in the assault.
The Russian Rostov region has recently seen over a dozen shells hitting the area, which borders Ukraine's eastern Lugansk region, where Ukrainian troops are fighting pro-Russian forces.
Ukraine's mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the pro-Russia protests.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, which has also forced tens of thousands to escape to Russia.
MOS/AB
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