SEVEN TROOPS REPORTED KILLED AS FIGHTING INCREASES IN EAST

MOSCOW At least seven Ukrainian troops have been killed in an apparent uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine, government officials said on Monday.

An armed conflict between government troops and separatist rebels has killed more than 9,600 since it began in 2014, according to the UN. A January ceasefire had until recently helped to limit the fighting to sporadic shootouts.

The government’s press office for the operation in the east said it recorded an increase in fighting Sunday which left at least five killed and nine injured. Two more were killed and five injured Monday, north of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk.