One Ukrainian Soldier Killed, Four Wounded In East Of Country

One Ukrainian soldier was killed and four were wounded during an artillery attack on March 3 in the eastern part of the country, where a conflict with Russia-backed separatists is in its sixth year.

Ukraine’s military reported that mortar rockets were fired on Ukrainian positions and high-caliber machine guns were also used.

Fifteen Ukrainian service members were killed in January-February this year and more than 13,000 people have been killed in the conflict since March 2014.

The war in Ukraine has uprooted more than 1.5 million people from their homes in the easternmost regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The conflict started after Russia invaded and occupied Ukraine’s Crimea Peninsula in early 2014.

Russia denies involvement in the eastern Ukrainian conflict and insists it is a civil war.