Three soldiers died when a
mine exploded in Ukraine’s
separatist-held east where
isolated clashes continue to
undermine a ceasefire aimed at
ending a year-long war.
Army spokesman Andriy
Lysenko said Saturday that “as
a result of the explosion of an
enemy mine … three Ukrainian
soldiers were killed, two
injured” in the last 24 hours.
There were no further details
on the incident, which occurred
near the village of Avdiyivka, a
few kilometres from the
separatist bastion of Donetsk, a
city in Ukraine’s industrial
heartland which prior to the
unrest was home to a million
people.
Lysenko said that the previous
day the army had noted “the
use at least five times of heavy
weapons by illegal armed
groups against our positions,”
including conventional artillery
and 122-mm mortars.
The fatalities were the first
announced by the Kiev
government in almost a week
after the death of a Ukrainian
army soldier was reported
Monday.
Some 6,000 people have been
killed since fighting broke out
between pro-Russian
separatists and the Ukraine
government a year ago.
A February ceasefire between
the two sides is largely holding
but skirmishes continue around
Donetsk and the strategic port
of Mariupol, Kiev’s largest
remaining stronghold in the
rebel-held east.
Kiev and the West accuse
Russian President Vladimir
Putin of supporting the
insurgency with troops, tanks
and heavy weapons —
accusations he rejects.
The Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe
which is monitoring the
ceasefire agreed in the
Belarussian capital Minsk said
the truce remained shaky.
“The cease-fire does remain
somewhat fragile” said OSCE
spokesman Michael Bociurkiw
at a weekly briefing.
“As long as guns continue to be
fired, and as long as substantial
amounts of heavy weaponry
continue to be concentrated in
offensive and defensive
positions, achieving a
comprehensive and sustainable
ceasefire will be difficult,” he
said.
He also warned of a growing
humanitarian crisis in the east
due to the lack of hospitals,
water and schools.
