Five soldiers killed in eastern Ukraine
Iran Press TV
Fri Dec 19, 2014 1:40PM GMT
Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another seven wounded in a deadly clash with pro-Russia forces.
Ukrainian forces confirmed that they lost five soldiers in an armed struggle with pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine on Friday.
Seven soldiers from Ukrainian forces' side were also wounded, Defense spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing in Kiev.
'Over the last day, we have lost five Ukrainian heroes, and another seven were injured as a result of military clashes,' he said.
According to Ukrainian defense officials reports, 162 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed so far after a truce was called on September 5.
Armed clashes occurred Friday while a new internationally-mediated peace talk meeting between Ukraine, pro-Russians, and Moscow is to be held in the Belarusian capital, Minsk, on Sunday.
The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly struggles between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev's military operation started in mid-April in an attempt to suppress the protests.
Violence intensified in May after the two regions in the conflict zone held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.
PN/HMV/KA
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