Seven Ukrainian servicemen have been killed and 11 wounded in the last 24 hours according to National Security and Defense Council spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko. He did not state where they were killed but mentioned fighting in Krymske, Sokolnyky, Popasne, Zolote, Shchastya and firing on Ukrainian positions outside of Donetsk.
One civilian in Donetsk was killed and another three injured during the same period according to the Donetsk City Council.
The Ukrainian government and representatives of the Russian-supported Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republic agreed to a ceasefire in Minsk on Sep. 5. Despite the ceasefire fighting has continued with some 68 Ukrainian troops killed since the ceasefire began.
In total the conflict in eastern Ukraine has claimed nearly 4,000 lives, including some 1,000 Ukrainian servicemen.
Fighting has shown no sign of stopping with the self-declared prime minister of the Donetsk People’s Republic telling journalists that “Kramatorsk, Mariupol and Slovyansk will be ours. We are going to take them back and won’t rule out military action” on Oct. 23 according to Interfax.
Most recently Kremlin-backed rebels took control of Ukrainian checkpoint No. 32 near the village of Smily in Luhansk Oblast where 10 servicemen died during a two-week siege. After high-level negotiations conducted involving President Petro Poroshenko, some 100 Ukrainian soldiers were allowed to withdraw from their encircled position.
