Soldier dies in Ukraine fire-fight

The Ukrainian government says at least one soldier was killed and seven others were injured in an apparent uptick in fighting in the country’s east.

Fighting between government forces and Russia-backed separatists has claimed some 10,000 lives and displaced over a million people since the conflict began in April 2014.

The Ukrainian government’s press office for the operation in the east accused the rebels of planning an offensive and said its positions came under heavy shelling in the morning. The press office reported widespread damage to civilian housing in the Luhansk region.