7 Ukrainian soldiers killed in past day - president's spokesman

Seven Ukrainian servicemen were killed and another 14 were wounded in the hostilities over the past 24 hours, Presidential military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told a briefing Tuesday. The militants resumed attacks in the vicinity of Luhansk, he said. The enemy used weapons that were to be withdrawn to safe distances under the Minsk agreements on ceasefire. They include mortars, grenade launchers and large-calibre machine-guns, according to Lysenko. A border checkpoint near Horlivka was shelled. Gunfire on Ukrainian army positions on the Svitlodarsk bulge intensified. Twenty mines were lobbed into areas near the town of Myronivske, where Ukrainian troops are stationed. Attacks resumed on approaches to the ruined Donetsk airport. The truce was breached 22 times in the Mariupol sector. Positions in Maryinka and Krasnohorivka were shelled by mortars and attacked by small arms. Shelling incidents were also observed in Novotroyitske, Starohnativka and Hnutove, Lysenko said.