DONETSK, Ukraine, Aug. 10 (UPI) -- Ukraine said that pro-Kremlin separatists intensified shelling in the eastern region of the country, prompting the Kiev administration to inform allies about Russia's aggression.
Kiev's military said Monday that the pro-Russian separatists violated a truce 127 times in the past 24 hours, Bloomberg reported. The bulk of the fighting of the recent rise in violence took place near the village of Starognativka in the Donetsk region.
One Ukrainian serviceman was killed and 16 people were wounded, Oleksandr Turchynov, head of the National Defense and Security Council, wrote in an emailed statement to Bloomberg. The fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed at least 6,700 people, according to United Nations' estimates.
Starohnativka is located about halfway between Donetsk, held by the separatists, and Mariupol, controlled by Kiev. Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, told reporters that up to 400 separatists supported by 10 tanks and 10 armored personnel carriers and other vehicles attacked Ukrainian positions overnight, reported Radio Free Europe.
"The enemy suffered significant losses in personnel and equipment," Lysenko said.
"The Foreign ministry will immediately inform the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe chairman, countries of the Normandy format, the EU and NATO about the worsening situation in Donbass and the threat of disruption," according to the statement. "The Russian side should take immediate steps to stop actions that cause Ukraine's destruction and deaths."
Russia rejected Ukraine's allegations:
"We didn't make any offensive. We were shelled from Grad rocket system from Starognativka," deputy commander Eduard Basuring said.
President Petro Poroshenko met Monday with top defense and security officials to discuss the dire situation in the region, according to a statement on his website, also reported by Bloomberg.
