{"id":64873,"date":"2022-01-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-01T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lebanonnewsgazette.com\/?guid=480a7f802402274582026bda2385cbb2"},"modified":"2022-01-01T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2022-01-01T00:00:00","slug":"ukrainian-soldier-killed-as-tensions-with-russia-soar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lebanonnewsgazette.com\/ukrainian-soldier-killed-as-tensions-with-russia-soar\/","title":{"rendered":"UKRAINIAN SOLDIER KILLED AS TENSIONS WITH RUSSIA SOAR"},"content":{"rendered":"
Ukraine said Saturday one of its soldiers was killed in fighting with pro-Moscow separatists, as the US again warned Russia against any attacks on the country.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
U.S. President Joe Biden was due to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday, after warning Russian President Vladimir Putin for the second time of a tough response should he invade Ukraine.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
In his New Year’s Eve address, Zelensky said ending the war in the east remains his “main goal”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
“One serviceman of the Joint Forces was fatally wounded,” the army said in a statement, adding that separatists had launched three attacks within 24 hours, using grenade launchers and small arms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The army gave no further details of how the soldier was killed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Tensions with Moscow have soared in recent months, with Russia massing troops near Ukraine’s borders.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The West has accused the Kremlin of planning an invasion.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This week, Biden held his second phone call with Putin in just over three weeks, threatening Moscow with major economic sanctions should it launch an attack.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The Russian leader said anti-Moscow sanctions would be a “colossal mistake”.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
On December 22 international monitors said Russia and Ukraine had agreed to restore a ceasefire, but as early as the next day Kiev and separatists accused each other of new violations.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The soldier’s death on Saturday was the first since the truce was agreed.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
All previous ceasefires — including the previous truce agreed in July 2020 — crumbled.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Kiev has been battling a pro-Moscow insurgency in two breakaway regions bordering Russia since 2014, when the Kremlin annexed Ukraine\u2019s Crimean peninsula.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
The conflict in eastern Ukraine has so far left more than 13,000 dead.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Source: National News Agency<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ukraine said Saturday one of its soldiers was killed in fighting with pro-Moscow separatists, as the US again warned Russia against any attacks on the country.U.S. President Joe Biden was due to speak to his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky on …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n