Eight Ukrainian soldiers have been killed – seven of them by a single land mine – in the past 24 hours in eastern Ukraine where government forces are battling pro-Russia separatists, Kiev’s military spokesman has said.
“We have lost eight servicemen. One was killed during fighting with rebels while another seven were killed when their vehicle was blown up by a land mine,” spokesman Andriy Lysenko told Reuters on Tuesday.
The land mine explosion took place near Donetsk, he added. The largest city in eastern Ukraine is under the control of the rebels.
A ceasefire between the two sides brokered in Minsk in February by the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France remains technically in force, but regular skirmishes are claiming lives almost daily on both sides.
On Monday Barack Obama used the close of the G7 summit in Germany to deliver his strongest criticism yet of Vladimir Putin, lambasting the Russian president’s isolationist approach as the seven leaders signalled their readiness to tighten sanctions against Russia if the conflict escalates.
“Does he continue to wreck his country’s economy and continue Russia’s isolation in pursuit of a wrong-headed desire to recreate the glories of the Soviet empire? Or does he recognise that Russia’s greatness does not depend on violating the territorial integrity and sovereignty of other countries?” the US president said at the close of the intensive discussions in Bavaria as world leaders, including the summit’s host, Angela Merkel, presented a united front against Putin.
The German chancellor stressed that while she hoped the situation in Ukraine would not worsen, the G7 leaders were prepared to implement tougher sanctions if it did. We are “ready, should the situation escalate – which we don’t want – to strengthen sanctions if the situation makes that necessary but we believe we should do everything to move forward the political process of Minsk”, Merkel said.
Obama warned that if Russia were to “double down” on what he called its “aggressive behaviour” in Ukraine, additional steps could be taken.
Merkel, who maintained a sporadic line of communication with Putin through the early stages of the conflict, stressed that current sanctions would remain in place until Russia cooperated with implementing the peace plan agreed in Minsk in February.
The European members of the G7 – Britain, Italy and France – said they would support the extension of the main EU sanctions when they meet this month.
