KIEV, Ukraine
At least six people were killed and 55 others were injured Tuesday in clashes between Ukrainian army and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk city, officials said.
The Donetsk governorate said in a statement that among those killed and injured were "many soldiers." The statement added that the injured were being treated at a hospital.
Separately, Ukrainian Presidential Adviser Yuriy Biryukov said that pro-Russian separatists took eight Ukrainian soldiers hostage during clashes at Donetsk airport. He said that "some soldiers" were also killed.
The Ukrainian Counter-terrorism Center said in a statement that during last 24 hours, pro-Russian separatists violated the agreed upon cease-fire 102 times.
OSCE calls for cease-fire in eastern Ukraine
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe called for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine.
Representatives of the organization’s 57 participating states at a special meeting of the Permanent Council in Vienna adopted a declaration calling for an immediate cease-fire in Ukraine and full implementation of the Minsk agreements.
In the declaration, the participating states expressed their “serious concern over the military escalation in recent days in eastern Ukraine” and called “for an immediate cease-fire by all sides and the full implementation of the Minsk Protocol of Sept. 5, 2014, and Memorandum of Sept. 19, 2014.”
The Ukrainian government and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine had signed a cease-fire agreement on Sept. 5. The agreement, however, was not respected. At least 1,357 fatalities have been recorded since then.
At least 4,707 people have been killed and 10,322 have been wounded in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since mid-April, according to the UN.
