On the eve of NATO-Russia talks, a Ukrainian soldier was killed – SME.sk

KIEV. Ukraine said on Wednesday that one of its soldiers had been killed in a fight with pro-Moscow separatists on the eve of NATO-Russia talks in Brussels over the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The information was provided by the AFP news agency.

Tensions over Ukraine have worsened in recent months, with Washington and Kiev’s European allies accusing Russia of preparing to invade the former Soviet republic.

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Ukraine said separatists targeted its military positions in the east on Tuesday and fired heavy machine guns and small arms.

“One member of the armed forces was mortally wounded,” the Ukrainian army said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that its soldiers had returned fire.

Moscow is accused of gathering around 100,000 troops on the border with Ukraine.

The Kremlin describes the presence of its troops as protection against illegal actions by the West, especially the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and calls for extensive concessions from Washington and its allies, such as not preventing NATO from expanding eastward.

The first round of talks between the United States and Russia in Geneva on Monday, aimed at easing tensions at the Ukrainian border, proved to be futile.

The next round of talks begins on Wednesday at NATO Headquarters in Brussels.

Since 2014, when Russia annexed the Ukrainian Crimean Peninsula, Kiev has been fighting the Promoskov uprising in two separatist areas bordering Russia. This conflict has already claimed more than 13,000 lives.