Ukraine's military said two soldiers were killed and four wounded in
shelling by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, where a
flare-up of violence this week has fueled fears it could trigger a Russian
attack.
The Ukrainian military said on its Facebook page it had recorded 70
ceasefire violations by separatists since the start of the day compared to
66 cases over the previous 24 hours.
The separatists opened fire on more than 30 settlements along the front line
using heavy artillery, which has been banned by the agreement aimed at
cooling the long-running conflict, the military said.
A group of lawmakers and foreign media visiting the conflict zone came under
fire and had to be evacuated to a shelter, spokesman for President Volodymyr
Zelenskiy's party said in a separate statement on Saturday.
Separatist officials accused Ukraine on social media site Telegram of
shelling separatist-held areas and said they should respond.
Incidents of shooting across the line separating government troops and
separatists have sharply increased this week, in what the Ukrainian
government has called a provocation.
They vehemently denied suggestions from Russia that Kyiv could launch an
attack in eastern Ukraine.