Ukraine says soldier killed amid West's drumbeat of war with Russia

The Ukrainian military has announced the death of one of its soldiers in an alleged shelling by pro-Russia forces in the country’s volatile east, amid tensions between Moscow and Kiev.

According to Press TV, the military said the fatality took place early on Saturday when the pro-Russia separatists opened fire on more than 20 settlements and residences in eastern Ukraine, using heavy guns and artillery.

"As a result of a shelling attack, one Ukrainian soldier received a fatal shrapnel wound," the joint military command for east Ukraine said in a statement.

The incident comes as Ukraine's government troops and pro-Russia forces have over the past days accused each other of launching a huge new wave of attacks amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Kiev.

The Ukrainian armed forces reported in a statement 66 exchanges of fire by 7:00 am local time (04:00 GMT) on Saturday, a high number compared to recent stages of the conflict, while pro-Russians called the situation "critical."

The statement said the pro-Russia separatists had resorted to using banned 82 and 120 millimetre-calibre mortar shells in towns across the front running in the eastern regions of Lugansk and Donetsk, collectively known as Donbas.

Moscow formally denied being involved in the conflict and described the flare-up in the region as Ukrainian internal affairs, with pro-Russia separatist leaders accusing the Ukrainian Armed Forces of trying to retake their two regions by force.

ME