CLASHES BREAK OUT IN UKRAINE
Both sides blame the other for renewed hostility
KYIV • A major battle erupted Wednesday on the western edge of the main separatist rebel stronghold in eastern Ukraine, killing more than a dozen people and threatening to tip the country back into full-blown war.
Rebels in Donetsk said 15 civilians and combatants had died in territory under their control.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry said at least one person was killed in Marinka, the government-held town where fighting was centred. Three Ukrainian soldiers died in combat and another 30 were wounded.
Each side is blaming the other for sparking this round of unrest.
Ukraine’s General Staff said rebels deployed 1,000 fighters and dozens of tanks and selfpropelled artillery systems in a major offensive that started before dawn. It added the attack was a flagrant violation of a February cease-fire agreement.
The head of the separatist armed forces, Vladimir Kononov, said his fighters had engaged only in defence measures after an all-out assault by the Ukrainian army.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk accused Russia of inciting the fighting. Ukraine and the West assert Moscow supplies rebels with manpower and powerful weapons. Russia rejects those claims as unfounded.
Yatsenyuk urged the leaders meeting at the Group of Seven summit in Germany this weekend to condemn Russia.
“The international community must come up with a correct and appropriate response to Russian aggression,” he said.
Implementation of the ceasefire sealed in Belarus in February has foundered amid a proliferation of low-intensity battles that have now been overshadowed by developments in Marinka.
Negotiators from the warring sides met for new talks in Belarus Tuesday, but the session concluded without obvious progress. Another meeting is planned for the weekend.
Russia has said it is unnerved by the violence, which it is blaming on Ukraine.
“We here in Moscow are closely watching it and feel extreme concern about the provocative actions by the Ukrainian armed forces,” said Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
The U.S. State Department also said it was disturbed by the unrest, adding any rebel attempts to seize Ukrainian territory would have costs for Russia, which it accuses of guiding the separatists.
“Russia bears direct responsibility for preventing these attacks and implementing a ceasefire,” said State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf.
A February armistice requires both sides to pull back heavy weapons from the front line, but international observers vetting that process regularly note violations.