Death toll mounts in Ukraine after peace talks fail

Thirteen government soldiers and at least as many civilians have been killed over 24 hours in eastern Ukraine’s separatist conflict after the collapse of peace talks, Kiev authorities said.

Hopes of easing the situation evaporated on Saturday when Ukraine’s representative and separatist envoys accusing the other of sabotaging negotiations.

“Fighting continues across all sections of the frontline,” a Kiev military spokesman said in a briefing.

Rebel delegates were not ready to discuss key points of a peace plan, according to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which took part in the talks in Minsk, Belarus, along with envoys from Ukraine and Russia.

The OSCE said rebels had instead pushed for a revision of a ceasefire plan agreed in Minsk last September.

Protocol ignored

The terms of that 12-point protocol have been repeatedly violated, but Kiev and foreign governments see it as the only viable roadmap to end the nine- month-long conflict, in which more than 5,000 people have been killed.

In eastern Ukraine, the Kiev military reported no let-up in rebel attacks on government positions.

Clashes are intense around the town of Debaltseve, the spokesman said, referring to a Kiev-held transport hub connecting the two main rebel strongholds that separatists aim to cut off.

“There is no question of encirclement or cutting off of the main communication lines,” he said. “The situation is under control.”

Civilians killed

The interior ministry said seven civilians had been killed in shelling yesterday of Debaltseve, while the Luhansk regional administration said three civilians had been killed in shelling across the region overnight.

Residents are being encouraged to abandon the areas of fiercest fighting, where many have been living in makeshift bomb shelters.

In the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, the regional administration reported the deaths of at least three civilians in shelling on Sunday.

Nadezhda Petrovna (68)watched as a young man was killed when a shell landed in front of him as he was running away from the attack.

“It is like this every day,” she said. “People are getting killed. We are sleeping fully dressed so we can run into the cellar. This is becoming unbearable.” – (Reuters)