Several killed in artillery fire in Ukraine: Official

Kiev, Sep 30 (IANS/EFE) Several people were killed in Popasnaya, in eastern Ukraine, in heavy shelling by pro-Russian separatists, Gennady Moskal, the Kiev-appointed governor for the region said Tuesday.

"There are dead and wounded," the governor posted on his official website, noting that multiple rocket launchers were used in the attack.

However, the head of the self-proclaimed People's Republic of Lugansk (RPL), Alexei Kariakin, denied Moskal's allegations, saying that the rebel militias respected the truce agreed a month ago between the two sides.

In the neighbouring region of Donetsk, the international airport is the epicentre of tensions between the Ukrainian troops which control it, and the pro-Russian militia besieging the facility.

The airport area was again shelled Tuesday in another violation of the ceasefire.

Almost a month after the declaration of the truce, skirmishes between the two sides continue, however now with less intensity according to the observer mission of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

The UN says more than 3,000 people have died since April in Donetsk and Lugansk, where eight million people lived before the outbreak of the armed rebellion against Kiev.

--IANS/EFE

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