Ukraine announced Tuesday, September 14 the death of one of its soldiers on the front opposing pro-Russian separatists, the fourth in three days in this area plagued by a new outbreak of violence.
Read also On the Donbass front, the endless war between Ukraine and Russia
According to the Ukrainian army, the separatists fired at its positions in the Donetsk and Lugansk (east) regions with artillery, mortar, machine gun and grenade launcher.
"
A soldier was killed by enemy fire
," she said in a statement.
The situation on the front seems to be deteriorating since last week.
Over the weekend, three Ukrainian servicemen were killed and at least 10 others injured in separatist attacks.
Near the town of Verkhniotoretské, near Donetsk, the situation was calmer on Tuesday, while the exchanges of fire had continued the day before, according to an AFP journalist on the spot.
"
No chance
"
One of the soldiers killed in the area on Sunday, Artour Golub, was driving a truck and preparing to distribute food when he was hit by two anti-tank rockets, one of his brothers said. 'weapons, Oleksandre. "
He had no chance to get out,
" adds this bearded man with tired eyes, in a helmet and camouflage uniform. According to Yuri, another member of this marines unit, the rebels "
shoot often
."
On Monday, during the passage of AFP in this trench, the separatists launched an attack using machine guns, to which Ukrainian troops responded by also opening fire with a machine gun from a shelter.
"
With these shots, they are trying to get us out of the trench because the grass prevents us from seeing
" where the attack is coming from, explains Oleksandre.
“
If we go out, snipers shoot us.
This is their plan.
But we don't do it, so it's okay
”.
54 Ukrainian soldiers died in 2021
According to a report established from official sources, at least 54 Ukrainian soldiers have perished on the front lines since the beginning of the year, against a total of 50 for the whole of 2020. On the separatist side, more than 30 fighters have been declared dead since January.
Sign of the worsening, the observation mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), deployed in the conflict zone, reported more than 400 violations of the ceasefire over the weekend last, against 210 the previous weekend.
This new outbreak of violence takes place against the backdrop of major Russian-Belarusian military exercises launched on Friday.
Read alsoUkraine, the way out for Belarusians
Ukraine has been in conflict since 2014 with pro-Russian separatists, militarily supported by Russia according to Kiev and the West. The war, which broke out shortly after Moscow's annexation of Crimea, has claimed more than 13,000 lives to date.