Global alarm over Ukraine fighting as death toll rises
Government forces and Russian-backed separatists exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a fourth day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka
The death toll from the latest escalation in fighting in Ukraine rose to 19 on Wednesday as international alarm rang out over the spike in bloodshed in the European Union’s back yard.
Government forces and Russian-backed separatists exchanged mortar and rocket fire for a fourth day around the flashpoint eastern town of Avdiivka just north of the rebels’ de facto capital Donetsk.
The Ukrainian military said three of its soldiers had died overnight while the rebels said four civilians had been killed.
Hundreds of mourners laid flowers on Kiev’s Independence (Maidan) Square as Ukrainian servicemen carried the coffins of comrades killed in the latest surge of fighting.
The clashes in Avdiivka have left more than 20,000 people without heat or water in freezing winter weather with no signs of relief in sight.
The fighting comes at a potential watershed moment for Ukraine as fears mount in Kiev that staunch US support could be set to wane with President Donald Trump looking to mend ties with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.