KIEV, Ukraine
Pro-Russian separatists have violated the Minsk cease-fire 20 times despite the region marking Easter Sunday, according to a statement from Ukraine’s Anti-Terrorism Operation.
The organization said on Sunday the attacks had targeted Ukrainian soldiers near Peski, Avdeevka, Opitnoe, Lagerovka and Sirokino villages over the preceding 24 hours.
Unmanned aerial vehicles belonging to pro-Russians were sighted 12 times in eastern Ukraine, the statement added.
A cease-fire was signed between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists in Minsk on Feb. 12, which included the withdrawal of heavy weaponry from combat areas, the withdrawal of all foreign-armed formations and release of all hostages and unlawfully detained persons, as well as political reforms and decentralization in the eastern Ukrainian regions.
Ukrainian and European leaders have accused Russia of supporting the conflict by providing arms and ammunition to the separatists, while Russia says the U.S. and EU have deliberately destabilized Ukraine to expand the West's military presence in Eastern Europe through NATO.
More than 6,000 people have lost their lives in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists since last April, according to the U.N.
