Ukraine War Update: Kyiv Says Two Ukrainian Soldiers Killed In Conflict In East

Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty

Ukraine says two of its soldiers have been killed and two others wounded in clashes with Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.

The Defense Ministry on April 3 said separatist fighters fired machine guns, mortars, artillery, and grenade launchers, violating a cease-fire 14 times in a 24-hour period.

The ministry also said that Ukrainian armed forces killed three separatists and wounded eight others.

Meanwhile, the separatists in the Donetsk region accused Ukrainian government forces of violating the cease-fire 12 times in the same period.

Since April 2014, some 13,000 people have been killed in fighting between Kyiv's forces and the Russia-backed separatists who control parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

Cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed at resolving the conflict -- have contributed to a decrease in fighting but have failed to hold.

A new cease-fire agreement was reached on March 8, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations since then.