Six Ukrainian servicemen killed despite ceasefire

KIEV: Six Ukrainian servicemen were killed and 12 wounded in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours despite a ceasefire deal, the Kiev military said on Tuesday, as Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine called for an end to renewed heavy fighting.
Ukraine's military and pro-Russian rebels have accused each other of intensifying attacks over the past few days, putting further strain on the two-month-old truce, still technically in force though casualties are reported almost daily.
"The situation in the conflict zone remains unstable. Armed attacks from the enemy are taking place in almost all parts (of the frontline)," spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing.
The most active exchange of fire on Monday was around villages near rebel-held Donetsk, Lysenko said. He gave no details on the circumstances of the deaths of the six soldiers -the heaviest losses for government forces in more than a month.
Meanwhile separatist officials accused government troops of firing artillery rounds repeatedly at rebel positions, the separatist news agency DAN reported.
Foreign ministers from Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine condemned the escalation of violence in a late-night meeting on the implementation of the ceasefire on Monday.
More than 6,000 people have been killed since fighting started last April when pro-Russian rebels opposed to a new pro-Western government declared independence from Kiev. – Reuters