Kremlin-backed insurgents in eastern Ukraine made several deadly assaults on the Ukrainian troops on Oct. 14-15.
Twelve Ukrainian soldiers were killed when the insurgents attacked Ukrainian troops some 40 kilometers away from Luhansk in the early morning on Oct. 15, according to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
Just hours earlier, another group of insurgents surrounded 112 Ukrainian servicemen at the Ukrainian checkpoints near Bakhmutka village in Luhansk Oblast. Some soldiers, including one batallion commander, were taken captive. As of 12 p.m. on Oct. 15, the fighting was still going on.
According to the recently appointed Luhansk Oblast Governor Hennadiy Moskal, the OSCE representatives were trying to negotiate the release of the captives. However, the separatist republic claimed the attackers were the cossacks of the so-called Army of Don and were not controlled by them.
The attack is one the biggest episodes of violence against the Ukrainian army since the cease-fire was announced on Sept. 5 between the Ukrainian government and the insurgents. The military conflict has killed at least 3,660 people in five months.
According to the United Nations report, 330 casualties were registered after the cease-fire was signed.
Moskal claimed the cossacks attacking the Ukrainian troops near Bakhmutka used 20 tanks and other artillery.
Vladyslav Selezniov, the spokesman of the anti-terrorist operation headquarters, said the situation near Bakhmutka is “complicated, but is under (Ukrainian government) control.”
