Kiev, Ukraine (AP) – The Ukrainian military says one soldier has been killed and another seriously wounded in artillery fire by Russian-backed separatist rebels on Sunday as hostilities rise sharply in the east.
Following the reported attack, Ukraine says 27 soldiers have been killed in the east this year, more than half of those killed in 2020. The attacks have intensified in recent weeks, and Russia has built troops. along the border with Ukraine.
Russia denies Western claims that it sent troops to eastern Ukraine to help the rebels, but officials say the military could intervene if Ukraine tries to retake the area by force. The build-up of troops has raised strong concerns in the West.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday that “if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be costs, there will be consequences.”
Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists fought in eastern Ukraine shortly after Moscow’s 2014 annexation of the Crimean Peninsula in Ukraine. More than 14,000 people have died in the conflict, and efforts to negotiate a political solution have ceased.