Fighting in E. Ukraine kills 27 amid peace talks

Fierce fighting in eastern Ukraine between government troops and independence-seeking insurgents has killed at least 27 people, including 17 civilians, over the past day, authorities said Thursday.

The casualties came amid peace talks in Berlin between Ukrainian, Russian, German and French foreign ministers, who urged all sides involved in the conflict to cease hostilities.

At least eight civilians were killed and seven others wounded when a shell smashed into a trolleybus in the conflict-hit Donetsk at around 8.30 a.m. local time (GMT 0630) Wednesday, the press service of the regional prosecutor's office in Donetsk region said in a statement.

The statement accused insurgents of being responsible for the incident, saying they intentionally targeted civilians. The insurgents denied their involvement, blaming government troops of shelling the vehicle with mortars.

Meanwhile, city officials of Donetsk said that eight civilians were killed and over a dozen of others were wounded overnight in the city as shelling continued.

Fighting also raged elsewhere in the country's troubled east and had been especially heavy around Lugansk, the second largest insurgent-held city, where insurgents carried out 44 attacks against Ukrainian forces.

Gennady Moskal, head of the Lugansk Regional Administration, said one women was killed and another injured in Zolotoe, Lugansk nearby town.

Ukraine's army spokesman Vladislav Seleznev said that at least 10 government troops were killed and 16 other wounded in clashes with rebels over the past day.

The conflict between insurgents and Kiev solders has raged for more than nine months, claiming at least 4,800 lives. Endi