Three Ukrainian soldiers have been killed by pro-Russian rebels, the Kiev military said today, the heaviest toll reported in the separatist east of the ex-Soviet republic in nearly two months.
Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the troops had died in a mortar attack on the government-held village of Mayorsk around 35 kilometres north of the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk.
He said five government soldiers were also wounded over the past 24 hours in separate incidents along the 500-kilometre front splitting the pro-Russian industrial regions of Lugansk and Donetsk from the rest of Ukraine.
These and other kinds of heavy weapons are prohibited under the peace agreements aimed at ending the two-year conflict.
Around 9,200 people have died and more than 21,000 been injured since the predominantly Russian-speaking regions revolted against Ukraine's new pro-Western government in April 2014.
A series of truce agreements have helped reduce the violence, although sporadic clashes continue and prevent the sides from reaching a firm political reconciliation deal.
Kiev and the West accuse Russia of supporting the insurgents and sending regular troops across the border, claims that Moscow denies.
