Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack in the war-torn east of the country on Tuesday, Kiev said, the highest daily casualty toll over the past two weeks.

The troops died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the village of Pavlopil close to the Kiev-controlled port city of Mariupol, said Oleksandr Danylyuk, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Tuesday's casualties were the highest daily toll since a truce went into force on July 21 - the latest attempt to ease hostilities between Ukraine forces and pro-Russian separatists.

"This crude violation of the truce agreements will not go unnoticed," Danylyuk said on his Facebook page.

In a separate attack, Moscow-backed separatists after midnight fired at the positions of the Ukrainian army near the village of Bogdanivka located south of the Donetsk rebel stronghold, military spokesman Dmytro Gutsulyak said.

Separatists used an infantry fighting vehicle, grenade launchers, and heavy machine guns, he said.

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, who carved out two "people's republics" in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, have fought since April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.

Some 13,000 people have been killed in the violence that Kiev blames on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow has denied the claims it has funnelled troops and arms across the border despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

A series of truce agreements have helped significantly dampen the hostilities although sporadic clashes continue. </s> Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack in the war-torn east of the country on Tuesday, Kiev said, the highest daily casualty toll over the past two weeks.

The troops died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the village of Pavlopil close to the Kiev-controlled port city of Mariupol, said Oleksandr Danylyuk, secretary of the National Security and Defense Council.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the incident an attempt to "undermine" Ukraine's efforts toward peace and called on France, Germany and Russia to "meet as quickly as possible to resume negotiations".

"We will not cease to work toward ending hostilities or leave any attack on our soldiers unanswered," Zelensky wrote on his Facebook page.

Tuesday's casualties were the highest daily toll since a truce went into force on July 21 -- the latest attempt to ease hostilities between Ukraine forces and pro-Russian separatists.

In a separate attack, Moscow-backed separatists fired at the positions of the Ukrainian army near the village of Bogdanivka located south of the Donetsk rebel stronghold, military spokesman Dmytro Gutsulyak said.

Separatists used an infantry fighting vehicle, grenade launchers and heavy machine guns, he said.

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, who carved out two "people's republics" in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, have fought since April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.

Some 13,000 people have been killed in the violence that Kiev blames on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Moscow has denied claims it has funneled troops and arms across the border.

A series of truce agreements, brokered by France and Germany, have helped dampen hostilities but sporadic and sometimes serious clashes continue. </s> Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack in the war-torn east of the country on Tuesday, Kiev said, the highest daily casualty toll over the past two weeks

Kiev, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 6th Aug, 2019 ) :Four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack in the war-torn east of the country on Tuesday, Kiev said, the highest daily casualty toll over the past two weeks.

The troops died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack near the village of Pavlopil close to the Kiev-controlled port city of Mariupol, said Oleksandr Danylyuk, secretary of the National Security and Defence Council.

Tuesday's casualties were the highest daily toll since a truce went into force on July 21 - the latest attempt to ease hostilities between Ukraine forces and pro-Russian separatists.

"This crude violation of the truce agreements will not go unnoticed," Danylyuk said on his Facebook page. </s> Donetsk regional militias in eastern Ukraine had no part in the recent deaths of four Ukrainian troops northeast from the city of Mariupol, the representative office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) at the ceasefire coordination center said Wednesday

DONETSK (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th August, 2019) Donetsk regional militias in eastern Ukraine had no part in the recent deaths of four Ukrainian troops northeast from the city of Mariupol , the representative office of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) at the ceasefire coordination center said Wednesday.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the four servicemen were killed in two attacks on government positions on Tuesday near the village of Pavlopil. Kiev called the deadly incident a violation of a ceasefire agreement between the central authorities and militias.

"The Republic's representatives at the Joint Center on Control and Coordination of issues related to the ceasefire regime investigated the death of Ukrainian troops.

They concluded that the attacks could not have been conducted from the Republic's positions considering their distance from the site of the incident does not correspond to the tactical and technical characteristics of the weapons that the Ukrainian side said were used," a spokesperson for the DPR told reporters.

The DPR suggested that the servicemen could have died as a result of mishandling munitions and accused the command of the Ukrainian military operation in the east of trying to cover up their non-combat losses by blaming the militias. </s> Ukrainian authorities said four soldiers had been killed in fighting Russia-backed separatists, some of the worst violence in weeks in war-torn eastern Ukraine. Kyiv military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said the clashes occurred January 29 near Avdiyivka, a town north of the regional center Donetsk.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Weekday Magazine. </s> Ukrainian authorities said four soldiers had been killed in fighting Russia-backed separatists, some of the worst violence in weeks in war-torn eastern Ukraine.

Kyiv military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk and Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said the clashes occurred January 29 near Avdiyivka, a town north of the regional center Donetsk.

The town is home to a major coke producing plant and a steel smelter.

Motuzyanyk said at least one separatist fighter was killed in the fighting which involved large-caliber mortars and artillery.

Fighting in eastern Ukraine, which erupted nearly three years ago, has ebbed and flowed amid repeated efforts to cement a lasting cease-fire.

The latest truce was announced in December.

More than 9,750 people have died in the conflict, which began shortly after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych fled amid violent antigovernment protests in Kyiv in February 2014. </s> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said he had asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to put pressure on separatist fighters in the east, after four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack

Kiev, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - APP - 7th Aug, 2019 ) :Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said he had asked Russian leader Vladimir Putin to put pressure on separatist fighters in the east, after four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack.

"I called him urgently. I told him that this brings us no closer to peace," Zelensky said during a briefing, adding that he had urged Putin to ask the Moscow-backed separatists to "stop killing our people".

The Ukrainian leader said he had a "long conversation" with Putin on Wednesday morning, only their second publicly announced phone call since former comedian Zelensky was elected in April.

Kiev reported Tuesday that four soldiers died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, the highest daily toll since a truce went into force on July 21.

Zelensky at the time called the incident an attempt to "undermine" Ukraine's efforts toward peace and called on France, Germany and Russia to "meet as quickly as possible to resume negotiations".

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, who carved out two "people's republics" in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, have fought since April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea. </s> Pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian government have been waging a war for over four years in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The Kremlin denies that regular Russian servicemen take part in the conflict.

A Russian journalist has been hospitalized in war-torn eastern Ukraine after coming under fire alongside a pro-Russian separatist who was killed in the shelling.

In Ukraine, Russia Wants Political Control, Not Territory (Op-ed)

Igor Uklein, a sound engineer at Russia’s VGTRK state-owned media company, was with local rebel commander Oleg “Mamai” Mamiyev near the town of Avdiivka when both were hit by shelling, the company reported Friday.

Mamiyev died from injuries while Uklein was diagnosed with partial hearing loss, the company said on its Vesti.ru news website.

A third crew member was also slightly injured, VGTRK war correspondent Alexander Sladkov was quoted as saying.

“The guys are in normal condition,” Sladkov said.

Mamiyev will be buried in his native North Ossetia, VGTRK reported. </s> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday said he had asked his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to put pressure on separatist fighters in the east, after four Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a grenade attack.

"I called him urgently. I told him that this brings us no closer to peace," Zelensky said during a briefing, adding that he had urged Putin to ask the Moscow-backed separatists to "stop killing our people".

The Ukrainian leader said he had a "long conversation" with Putin on Wednesday morning, only their second publicly announced phone call since former comedian Zelensky was elected in April.

Zelensky called for urgent talks between Germany, France, Russia and Ukraine, the so-called "Normandy format" set up to resolve the conflict in eastern Ukraine.

"(We need to) look into each other's eyes. And end this war," he stated.

The Kremlin press-service said that Kiev and Moscow had discussed the prospects of cooperation under the Normandy format and agreed to intensify their work on prisoner exchange.

Kiev reported Tuesday that four soldiers died in a rocket-propelled grenade attack, the highest daily toll since a truce went into force on July 21.

Zelensky at the time called the incident an attempt to "undermine" Ukraine's efforts toward peace and called on France, Germany and Russia to "meet as quickly as possible to resume negotiations".

Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists, who carved out two "people's republics" in eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions, have fought since April 2014, after the annexation of Crimea.

Some 13,000 people have been killed in the violence that Kiev blames on Putin.

Moscow has denied claims it has funnelled troops and arms across the border.

A series of truce agreements, brokered by France and Germany, have helped dampen hostilities but sporadic and sometimes serious clashes continue. </s> Ukrainian authorities say eight military personnel have been captured by Russia-backed fighters in the eastern region of Donetsk.

 

 Ukraine’s Joint Forces Operations (OOS) in the country's east said in a statement that the soldiers were captured on May 22.

 

 "According to preliminary information, early in the morning today, eight military personnel of Ukraine's armed forces from the OOS took a wrong turn while moving aboard a truck near the town of Novotroyitske and found themselves in temporarily occupied territory, where they were captured by fighters of the Russian Federation's armed forces," the OOS statement said.

 

 The Ukrainian military frequently refers to Russia-backed separatist forces who hold parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions as "fighters of the Russian Federation's armed forces."

It also says that many regular Russian soldiers have fought in the conflict there, a claim that Moscow denies despite what Kyiv and NATO say is incontrovertible evidence.

 

 Ukraine’s Defense Ministry said earlier in the day that three soldiers were wounded in five cease-fire violations by Russia-backed forces over the previous 24 hours.

 

 The separatists in turn accused government forces of violating the cease-fire twice since May 21.

 

 Some 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict in eastern Ukraine since April 2014, when Russia encouraged separatism following the downfall of Moscow-friendly Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

 

 Cease-fire deals announced as part of the Minsk accords -- September 2014 and February 2015 pacts aimed at resolving the conflict -- have contributed to a decrease in fighting but have failed to hold.

 

 A new cease-fire agreement was reached on March 8, but both sides have accused each other of repeated violations since then.

 

 The conflict in the region known as the Donbas is one of the challenges facing President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, who was inaugurated on May 20.
Four Ukrainian Ground Forces soldiers are killed in an attack by pro-Russian separatists, near the village of Pavlopil in the war-torn eastern Donetsk Oblast.