REUTERS
Five Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and another seven injured in the Donbas conflict zone in the last 24 hours, National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a briefing in Kyiv on Friday.
"Over the last day, we have lost five Ukrainian heroes, and another seven were injured as a result of military clashes," he said.
Ukrainian defense officials reported on Thursday that 162 Ukrainian solders have been killed since the “ceasefire” in east Ukraine was declared on September 5. In reality, the ceasefire has only ever existed on paper, and fighting has continued, although with slightly less intensity.
Around 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed since the beginning of the conflict in the Donbas in mid-April.
Before news of today’s casualties, the death toll of Ukrainian soldiers since the latest “ceasefire” was unilaterally declared by Kyiv on December 9 stood at three.