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5 killed in eastern Ukraine as insurgents step up offensive: Kiev

Xinhua, January 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

At least five people were killed in eastern Ukraine in the past day as independence-seeking insurgents have intensified their offensive on government positions, Ukrainian authorities said Tuesday.

Ukrainian army spokesman Andriy Lysenko said that a government soldier died and ten others were wounded in mortar and rocket attacks across the conflict-torn region in the past 24 hours.

"The situation in the area has become more complicated as evidenced by 84 attacks on the Ukrainian forces in the last day with use of tanks, mortars and rocket-launchers," Lysenko told reporters during a briefing.

Accusing the insurgents of attempting to escalate the tension in the combat zone, Lysenko claimed that Ukrainian troops "strictly observe the agreed truce" and "fire only in response."

According to the Ukrainian army press office, the fiercest fighting took place at the Donetsk airport, leading to casualties and infrastructure devastation.

During shelling overnight in the residential neighborhood near the airport, at least two civilians were killed and three others wounded, the Donetsk city council said.

Separately, one civilian was killed in a mortar attack on a village 50 kilometers east of Donetsk, according to local authorities.

Violence and casualties were also reported in the neighboring Lugansk region.

Gennady Moskal, head of Lugansk Regional Administration, said that one person died and two other were severely wounded as a result of shelling in the government-controlled Schastie town.

The rebels confirmed that fighting with government troops was under way in the two eastern regions, but did not mention any casualties from their side.

Donetsk and Lugansk regions have been the scene of deadly clashes between Ukrainian soldiers and the insurgent forces since mid-April in a conflict that has killed over 4,700 people.

The two warring sides were trying to end the confrontation via diplomatic efforts, but none of the ceasefire agreements they managed to reach was fully implemented. Endi