13:44 13.11.2015

One Ukrainian soldier killed, three wounded in Donbas in past 24 hours

2 min read
One Ukrainian soldier killed, three wounded in Donbas in past 24 hours

One Ukrainian serviceman has been killed and another three have been wounded in the Ukrainian army operation area in the country's eastern regions over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov has said.

"There have been 22 violations of the ceasefire agreement in the past 24 hours. One of our servicemen has been killed and another three have been wounded," Turchynov told reporters in the village of Novi Petrivtsi, Kyiv region, on Friday.

In the past two weeks, the situation in Donbas has been showing signs of growing worse, he said.

Ukraine has informed its international partners that it may return the earlier withdrawn hardware to its previous positions if tensions escalate again, he said.

"The dynamics are very negative and very dangerous. Our international partners have been informed that if it does not stop, we will have to take measures," Turchynov said.

Ukrainian First Deputy Defense Minister Ivan Rusnak, for his part, said at a session of Ukraine's parliament on Friday that of the 22 shelling incidents recorded in the past 24 hours, 21 were of a provocative nature, "in other words, it was random gunfire."

Ukrainian servicemen have not opened fire in response to occasional shots, Rusnak said.

"However, the Ukrainian military will certainly open fire if weapons are used against our checkpoints or our patrol units," he added.

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