Ukraine: Soldiers Die in Strife in the Separatist East
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Version 0 of 1. Ukrainian military officials said Wednesday that five soldiers had been killed and 12 wounded in fighting in the separatist east, casting further doubt on the prospects for a months-old cease-fire that has never fully taken hold. Four soldiers died when their vehicle carrier drove over a mine in Avdiivka, a town just north of Donetsk, the rebel capital, and the fifth in an ambush, a military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, said. The fighting flared as envoys prepared to meet in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, for talks on better implementing the agreement. Those talks broke up inconclusively on Wednesday evening. Ukraine’s envoy, former President Leonid Kuchma, said the participants had not touched on Ukrainian requests that an outside peacekeeping force be deployed to the region, though that had been on the agenda. |