Six Ukrainian soldiers and three police officers were killed in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours
Six Ukrainian soldiers and three police officers were killed in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, security officials in Kiev said Monday.
The three police officers were killed when they were shelled while out on patrol near Makarove in the Lugansk region. Five other police were also wounded in the attack. The six soldiers died in separate incidents, officials said, while nine others were also wounded.
In the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, officials reported that one civilian had been killed and eight wounded over the weekend. An AFP reporter in the city reported hearing fresh shelling early Monday.
The latest casualties came with EU foreign ministers set to discuss the unrest in Ukraine in Brussels later Monday.
A nominal ceasefire is in place in eastern Ukraine but diplomatic sources say the meeting will seek to find ways to ensure all sides live up to the terms of the peace plan, brokered in September in Minsk.