KYIV, Ukraine (AP) – The Ukrainian military said one soldier was killed and another seriously injured by artillery fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels on Sunday, as hostilities in the east of the country intensified.
As of the reported attack, Ukraine says 27 soldiers have been killed in the east this year, more than half the number killed in all of 2020. The attacks have intensified in recent weeks and Russia has built up troops along the border with Ukraine.
Russia has denied Western claims that it sent troops to Eastern Ukraine to aid the rebels, but officials say the military could step in if Ukraine tries to recapture the area by force. Troop build-up has aroused great concern in the West.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday that “if Russia acts recklessly or aggressively, there will be costs, there will also be consequences.”
Ukrainian armed forces and Russian-backed separatists have been fighting in Eastern Ukraine since shortly after Moscow’s annexation of Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula in 2014. More than 14,000 people have died in the conflict and efforts to reach a political settlement have stalled.