Kiev's bloody eastern Ukraine campaign LIVE UPDATES

Published time: April 15, 2014 14:19
Edited time: July 01, 2014 19:02

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Refugees on the outskirts of Lugansk after the artillery shelling of the village of Metallist (RIA Novosti / Valery Melnikov)

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Fighting is continuing between Kiev and anti-government troops in southeastern Ukraine as the cease-fire expired on Monday evening. Russia and the EU have called to prolong the truce and start the third round of negotiations.

Wednesday, July 2

12:48 GMT:

Three Ukrainian soldiers were killed and 10 other injured in fighting in the in the south-east, Andrey Lysenko, chairman of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council, said.

According to Lysenko, Kiev troops and self-defense forces of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk engaged in combat on 19 occasions during the last 24 hours.

Several militia groups were trying to break out of the encirclement near the town of Slavyansk in the Donetsk Region, he said.

During the night, a military installation near the village of Melovoye in Lugansk Region was also attacked by the self-defense forces, Lysenko added.

12:25 GMT:

The heads of three leading Russian TV stations have called on the authorities of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic to release the journalists from Ukraine’s Hromadske TV.
“Regardless of the position media professionals take in the Ukrainian conflict, they must be allowed to do their jobs unhindered,” they said in a joint statement.
Hromadske TV correspondent Anastasia Stanko and cameraman Ilya Beskorovainy were reported as detained by Lugansk militias on Tuesday. The militia fighters suspect them of gathering intelligence for the Ukrainian military. The detention was condemned by the OSCE.
Earlier, troops loyal to Kiev detained on separate occasions several Russian journalists and held them in custody for several days.

10:35 GMT:

07:01 GMT:

A Russian citizen has been killed after Kiev troops shelled the city of Slavyansk, eastern Ukraine, reported LifeNews. According to the neighbors of the victim, she arrived from St. Petersburg to see if her apartment in Slavyansk was safe after repeated attacks from Ukrainian army. When the shelling started, many of the local residents hurried to the bomb shelters but the Russian woman didn’t manage to reach the shelter and was killed in the apartment building. Three people were also injured in the attack. One woman remains in serious condition.