Deaths mount daily as renewed fighting hits eastern Ukraine
AVDIIVKA, Ukraine — Heavy artillery and rockets hit residential areas in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday amid a new outburst of fighting between government troops and Russia-backed separatist rebels, killing at least eight people and injuring dozens.
Salvos of heavy-calibre artillery were heard throughout the night and late morning in Avdiivka, a town on the northern outskirts of the separatist stronghold of Donetsk where residents have been without electricity for days. In Donetsk, at least one civilian was killed by shrapnel.
The U.N. Security Council called for “an immediate return to the cease-fire regime,” a call echoed by the U.N. spokesman. Council members, including Ukraine which is serving a two-year term, expressed “grave concern about the dangerous deterioration of the situation in the eastern Ukraine and its severe impact on the local civilian population.”
The council condemned the use of weapons prohibited by the Minsk agreements on ending the conflict and called for their implementation. Members also expressed “full support” for the “sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”