East Ukraine fighting kills 7 civilians, 5 troops
Fresh fighting in the eastern part of Ukraine has killed seven civilians and five soldiers as the Ukrainian government alleges that pro-Russia forces are amassing forces in preparation for new offensives against two regions.
Ukrainian military official Volodymyr Polyovyi alleged in a Saturday press briefing that the pro-Russia forces are “accumulating forces for further offensive operations on Debaltseve and Mariupol.”
The official added that the militants were deploying new armored personnel carriers and tanks as well as multiple rocket launchers to Debaltseve region and Granitne, which is located about 35 kilometers northeast of Mariupol.
Debaltseve, located about midway between the pro-Russia forces’ strongholds of Donetsk and Lugansk, has been the center of fierce battles for more than a week. The pro-Russian forces are making efforts to encircle Ukrainian forces holding the strategic railway hub.
Amnesty International said earlier this week that most of Debaltseve’s population of 25,000 had escaped, but that nearly 7,000 civilians still remain behind.
Meanwhile, authorities from both warring sides announced that six civilians died as a result of shelling across government-held Debaltseve over the past 24 hours while another civilian was killed in Donetsk.
The latest casualty figures include two women killed by shelling in government-controlled Avdiyivka, just north of Donetsk airport, said the pro-Kiev regional police chief, Vyacheslav Abroskin.
Meanwhile, persisting battles between the government troops and the pro-Russia forces have killed five Ukrainian soldiers and wounded 26 others during the same period, according to Kiev’s military authorities.
The development comes after the pro-Russia forces allegedly launched rockets in January at the strategic government-held port city of Mariupol, the capture of which could open up a land bridge from Russia to Crimea.
According to UN figures, so far, nearly 5,400 people have been killed in the fighting between the two sides since the beginning of the conflict in April, 2014.
MFB/HJL/SS
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