Two Ukrainian troops were killed and four wounded in attacks launched by pro-Russia separatists in Ukraine’s breakaway east, its military said on Monday.
The Ukrainian army has been locked in a conflict since 2014 with separatists in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, fighting that erupted after Russia annexed Crimea.
Ukraine’s military said in a Facebook post on Monday that breakaway fighters had launched six attacks on its troops with grenade launchers and heavy machine guns over the past 24 hours.
“One soldier from the Joint Forces received fatal injuries,” the statement said, adding that another soldier was wounded.
The killed soldier was the head of a medical center on the front line, according to another Facebook post from the military.
Later on Monday, the Ukraine army said one more soldier had been killed and three wounded in new assaults over the day.
Russia amassed 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s borders in April after an uptick in violence.
While Moscow soon announced a pullback, both Russia and the United States say the withdrawal has been limited.
The conflict, which has claimed more than 13,000 lives, has seen at least 40 Ukrainian soldiers killed since the start of the year compared with 50 in all of 2020.
The separatists say roughly 30 of their fighters have died.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of sending troops and arms to support the separatists, which Moscow denies.
