At least six Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in fresh clashes with pro-Russian forces in the country’s eastern regions in the past 24 hours. "Our losses as a result of fighting were six servicemen killed and ten wounded," said Volodymyr Polyovy, spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, on Saturday. The fighting took place mainly in the ruins of Donetsk airport, with explosions heard in the city’s center most of the night. According to reports, residents could hear explosions every five seconds as well as sound of machine guns from the fighting at the airport. There were also reports of shelling in the village of Krymske near the eastern city of Lugansk. The loss comes just two days after Ukrainian military spokesman, Andriy Lysenko, reported that seven soldiers were killed and 11 others injured in fighting with pro-Russian forces in the restive eastern regions. According to latest figures by the United Nations (UN), more than 4,000 people have been killed and over 9,300 others injured since the fighting began in mid-April. Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking regions became the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army after the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush protests. Violence intensified in May after the two flashpoint regions of Donetsk and Lugansk held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine and joining the Russian Federation. The deaths further strain the fragile ceasefire, which came into force on September 5. Tension is growing in eastern Ukraine on the eve of local elections organized by the pro-Russians.
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