Seven Ukrainian soldiers killed by separatist attack at Donetsk

Seven Ukrainian soldiers were killed when Russian separatist shelling hit their armoured vehicle near Donetsk airport in eastern Ukraine, a military spokesman said on Monday, putting a fragile ceasefire under further strain. It was the largest loss of life among Ukrainian soldiers in a single incident since the ceasefire came into force earlier this month and cast a shadow over President Petro Poroshenko’s upbeat assertion last week that the worst of the war against the separatists was over.

During the evening attack, the Ukrainian armoured transporter, with its crew and a paratroop unit, took a direct hit from a tank.

Andriy Lysenko

Under pressure from Western governments, Poroshenko called the ceasefire after his troops suffered big battlefield losses against the separatists in August which Kiev ascribed to the direct intervention of Russian forces. Moscow, which opposes the pro-Western course pursued by the former Soviet republic, denies its troops have played any direct part in the conflict or armed the separatists despite what Kiev and Western governments say is incontrovertible proof.

I do not have any doubt that the main, the most dangerous, part of the war is already in the past.

President Petro Poroshenko

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