SIX KILLED, 13 INJURED IN POST-TRUCE DEAL EAST UKRAINE CLASHES

Kiev, 13 Shafar 1436/6 December 2014 (MINA) – Fresh clashes between the Ukrainian army and pro-Russia forces have claimed the lives of six Ukrainian soldiers.

“In the past day, we lost six soldiers. Another 13 were wounded,” Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters on Friday, Press TV quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Saturday.

The latest fatalities in the restive eastern Ukraine came despite the recent agreement between Kiev and pro-Russia forces to stop fighting from December 9 under the terms of a Kremlin-brokered ceasefire.

The representatives of Kiev, Moscow, and self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics signed a truce agreement which on September 5 in the Belarusian capital, Minsk.

The two mainly Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk in eastern Ukraine have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kiev’s military operation started in mid-April in a bid to crush the protests.

Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation.

According to reports, around 4300 people have lost their lives in eight months of deadly conflict in east Ukraine. (T/P002/P3)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)