Ukraine's defense ministry says that intense fighting in the country's rebel-held east has killed four troops and injured seven.
The defense ministry said in a statement today that what appears to be the biggest loss of life in months happened early morning during clashes that lasted five hours.
The ministry said the fighting erupted when the rebels began to shell government troops with mortars, trying break through the front line in the east of the Luhansk region.
The rebels in Luhansk, however, accused government troops of attacking them first.
The separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 10,000 since it began in April 2014. A 2015 peace agreement has helped reduce hostilities, but clashes have continued.