Four Ukraine soldiers killed in rebel east

KIEV: Ukraine on Saturday reported the death of four soldiers in the latest spike of fighting with Russian-backed rebels in the east, in the heaviest daily toll over the past weeks of the simmering conflict.
The military said the soldiers died in clashes in the area north of the insurgents' de facto capital of Donetsk.
"The situation in the anti-terrorist operation zone has deteriorated," the Ukrainian army said in a statement, referring to the conflict in two breakaway provinces in the country's industrial east.
Another two soldiers were wounded in mortar fire, it said, accusing rebels of using heavy weapons banned by ceasefire agreements.
A series of periodic truce deals have helped lower the level of violence but not fully ended bloodshed in the European Union's backyard.
The war in the former Soviet republic broke out in April 2014 and has claimed more than 10,000 lives.
Europe's only active conflict has plunged relations between Moscow and the West to a post-Cold War nadir and unsettled other Russian neighbours.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.
Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels. — AFP