3 soldiers dead in new clashes in east Ukraine

Iran Press TV

Wed Jan 28, 2015 3:0PM

Ukrainian officials say new clashes in east of the country have claimed the lives of three government troops.

Ukraine military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said Wednesday that three government soldiers had been killed in clashes with pro-Russia forces over the past 24 hours.

He added that the militants had launched an attack on the army troops in all fronts, especially the strategic town of Debaltseve, which connects two main militant strongholds of Lugansk to Donetsk.

"The terrorists from inside Debaltseve attacked the (railway) station. It is the sixth day the city has no water, heat and power" Lysenko said.

The situation remains tense in eastern Ukraine, where an armed conflict has claimed the lives of more than 5,000 people over the past 10 months.

International efforts for reaching a truce in east Ukraine have failed so far with Western governments accusing Russia of supporting the armed militancy against the Ukrainian government. Moscow denies the charges, saying Kiev must stop the suppression of the ethnic Russian population in the area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday said the tragedy in eastern Ukraine is the result of Western governments' double standards in dealing with the issue, adding that West's indifference toward the fate of others has proven to be destructive.

European Union foreign ministers are set to convene a meeting in Brussels on Thursday where they are expected to add some Russian officials to a blacklist of individual sanctions.

The United States and the EU have imposed several rounds of crippling sanctions on Moscow over the crisis in Ukraine.

MS/HMV/SS