7 Hurt in Ukraine Clashes, Rebels Accused of Grad Attack

Ukraine on Monday accused pro-Russian separatists of firing heavy Grad rockets in violation of a shaky ceasefire between the two sides, as seven people were reported injured in fresh clashes.

Six Ukrainian soldiers were wounded during fighting over the last 24 hours, army spokesman Andriy Lysenko said, stoking fears of an escalation in violence following a month of relative peace since the signing of the agreement.

The interior ministry also said that a civilian had suffered a shrapnel wound in the government-held town of Dzerzhynsk, after it came under mortar fire late Sunday.

Lysenko warned that "the situation remained unstable" along the whole conflict line, where rebels had used mortars, grenades and heavy weapons, against the terms of the ceasefire.

The army earlier reported that separatists had overnight Sunday fired 120mm mortars in the village of Pisky and used tanks in nearby Opytne, both close to the hotspot of Donetsk Airport.

Kiev also said its forces repelled an attempt to storm one of their positions in the village of Shyrokyne, close to the strategic port of Mariupol, the largest city still under government control in the conflict zone.

More seriously, they claim that rebels fired heavy Grad rockets on Orikhove, a frontline village north west of separatist stronghold Lugansk.

It is the second time that rebels have been accused of using the multiple rocket launchers since the peace deal came into effect on February 15.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, the two sides agreed to pull back their heavy arms to create a buffer zone of between 50 kilometers and 140 kilometers (31 miles and 87 miles), depending on the range of the weaponry. 

Ukraine's interior ministry on Monday said a convoy of military equipment, including 10 tanks, had entered the rebel-held town of Gorlivka, 10 kilometers north of Donetsk.

Despite the recent lull in fighting that has claimed over 6,000 lives since April, experts from a Ukrainian think-tank warned that a new offensive could be launched "in the coming weeks".

According to the Kiev-based International Center for Policy Studies, rebels are gathering troops "all across the front line."

Separatist forces currently comprise around 35,000 to 40,000 fighters, including up to 10,000 Russian fighters, it added.

Ukraine's defense ministry on Sunday said the near year-long conflict had claimed the lives of 1,750 Ukrainian soldiers.