MOSCOW — A spokesman for Ukraine’s military operation against separatist rebels in the country’s east said six soldiers had been killed in the 24-hour period that ended early Sunday.
The statement by Oleksander Motuzyanik comes during an escalation in fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russia-backed rebels. On Tuesday, Ukraine reported that seven of its soldiers had been killed.
The Donetsk People’s Republic, one of two self-proclaimed separatist republics in the east, claimed Sunday that Ukrainian forces had shelled positions there more than 600 times in a 24-hour period, the Russian news agency Tass reported.
The United Nations says more than 9,400 people have been killed since the conflict broke out in April 2014.