7 Ukrainian soldiers killed as shell hits armored personnel carrier

PanARMENIAN.Net - Seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed when a shell hit their armored personnel carrier near Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said on Monday, Sept 29, putting further strain on a fragile ceasefire in the region, Reuters reported.

It was the largest loss of life among Ukrainian soldiers in a single incident since the ceasefire began on Sept 5.

"Seven (Ukrainians) were killed late last night not far from Donetsk airport," Reuters quoted spokesman Andriy Lysenko as saying.

Separately, Yuri Biryukov, an adviser to President Petro Poroshenko, said on his Facebook page that the pro-Russian militias had fired the shell from a tank. He said nine Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in the attack and that tanks had been destroyed in return fire.

Despite the ceasefire, fighting has flared frequently around Donetsk international airport, which is held by government forces. The militants hold key points inside the city itself, an industrial hub with a pre-war population of about one million.

Poroshenko called the ceasefire, under pressure from Western governments, after his troops suffered big battlefield losses against the separatists in August which Kiev ascribed to the direct intervention of Russian forces.

Last week, he lauded the fact that clashes had diminished and that military casualties had dwindled to zero, showing his peace plan was working.

A United Nations human rights official said on Sept 23 that more than 3,500 people had been killed in the conflict, including 298 people who died when a Malaysian passenger plane flying over eastern Ukraine was brought down in July.