Fighting in eastern Ukraine kills five soldiers

Fighting continued Monday around a strategic railway hub in eastern Ukraine. Around 15 civilians died over the weekend in fighting between pro-Russian rebels and Kyiv's forces.

Attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, killed five more Ukranian soldiers and one civilian on Monday, officials said, adding that a total of 15 civilians were killed over the weekend.

"As a result of these attacks and military clashes, Ukraine lost five service personnel and another 29 have been wounded, " military spokesman Vyacheslav Seleznyov told reporters at a briefing on Monday morning.

Municipal authorities in Donetsk said in an online statement that 15 civilians were killed in their area by shelling over the weekend. Explosions could still be heard throughout the city on Monday morning, the Associated Press reported.

Pro-Russian rebels launched more than a 100 rocket, artillery and tank attacks on Ukrainian positions in the past 24 hours, Kyiv's military said. Rebels in eastern Ukraine also kept up attacks to dislodge government forces from Debaltseve, a strategic rail hub, which experienced intense fighting after peace talks collapsed last week.

Hopes for de-escalation in eastern Ukraine appeared to evaporate on Saturday, when peace talksbetween separatist envoys, Ukraine, and Russia in Minsk failed to make any progress and broke up after just a few hours. There has been no mention of whether further talks will take place.

Photo from: dw.de.