Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov speaks during a news briefing on the sidelines of the Russia-ASEAN summit in Sochi, Russia, May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin
Ukraine and Russia blamed each other on Tuesday for a surge in fighting
in eastern Ukraine over recent days that has led to the highest casualty toll
in weeks and cut off power and water to thousands of civilians on the front
line.
The Ukrainian military and Russian-backed separatists accuse each other
of launching offensives in the government-held industrial town of Avdiyivka and
firing heavy artillery in defiance of the two-year-old Minsk ceasefire deal.
Eight Ukrainian troops have been killed and 26 wounded since fighting
intensified on Sunday - the heaviest losses for the military since
mid-December, according to government figures.
"The current escalation in Donbass is a clear indication of Russia's
continued blatant disregard of its commitments under the Minsk agreements with
a view of preventing the stabilization of the situation and achieving any progress
in the security and humanitarian spheres," Ukraine's foreign ministry said
in a statement.
The peace deal was agreed in February 2015, but international security
monitors report ceasefire violations on a daily basis, including regular gun
and mortar fire.
The latest clashes mark the first significant escalation in Ukraine since
the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump, whose call for better
relations with Moscow has alarmed Kiev while the conflict remains unresolved.
Ukrainian authorities said they were prepared for a possible evacuation
of Avdiyivka's 16,000 residents, many of whom have little or no access to
electricity or water after shelling from the separatist side hit supply
infrastructure.
Meanwhile Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Ukrainian government
troops had launched a deadly attack on pro-Russian rebels across the Avdiyivka
front line on Monday.
"Such aggressive actions, supported by the armed forces of Ukraine,
undermine the aims and the task of realizing the Minsk accords," he said,
accusing the Ukrainian authorities of organizing the offensive as a ruse to try
to distract attention from domestic and other problems.
Close to 10,000 people have been killed since fighting
between Ukrainian troops and rebels seeking independence from Kiev erupted in
April 2014.
Ukraine and NATO accuse the Kremlin of supporting the
rebels with troops and weapons. The United States and European Union have
imposed sanctions on Russia over the conflict, as well as for its annexation of
Crimea.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Zinets in
Kiev, Katya Golubkova in Moscow; Writing by Alessandra Prentice in Kiev and
Andrew Osborn in Moscow; Editing by Christian Lowe and Mark Trevelyan)
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