Ukraine instability

Despite agreeing to a truce on Feb. 12, Ukrainian and rebel forces continued clashing in April. Both sides claim to have followed the cease-fire agreement, including moving heavy weapons and missiles away from a line of demarcation, and each has accused the other of breaking the truce.

On April 13, six Ukrainian soldiers and one rebel soldier were killed in eastern Ukraine. Rebels have also attacked Ukrainian positions near Luhansk, and shelling continues in Donetsk and near Mariupol.

In Kyiv (Kiev) in April, two men were killed, a former MP and a former newspaper editor, who were allies of former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovich, ousted by violent protests in February 2014. The Ukrainian Insurgent Army, a Ukrainian nationalist group not associated with the government of Ukraine, claimed responsibility for those deaths and deaths of other Yanukovich supporters.

The US State Department reported that, in violation of the cease-fire, Russia has increased the number of its troops and heavy weapons in Ukraine. Russia has not responded to those accusations. Clashes between Ukrainian and rebel forces have left more than 6,000 dead since hostilities began in April 2014.