Ukraine Forces Suffer Worst Losses of Crisis Amid Unrest

Violence in eastern Ukraine cast a shadow on this weekend’s presidential election, as government forces suffered their worst losses in battles with pro-Russian separatists since the secession campaign began in March.

An attack by rebels near Volnovakha, about 50 kilometers (31 miles) south of Donetsk, left 16 servicemen dead, First Deputy Health Minister Ruslan Salyutin said in televised remarks yesterday. One soldier was killed and two injured in the Luhansk region, the Defense Ministry said. The bloodshed was condemned by Ukraine’s allies, including the U.S. and the U.K.
“The armed separatists who are continuing to terrorize the people of Luhansk and Donetsk must not be allowed to deny Ukrainians their right to vote,” U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement yesterday. “Despite this appalling provocation, we call on the Ukrainian government to continue its policy of restraint.”
The conflict is taking a deadly turn after President Vladimir Putin said he’s easing the way for Ukraine’s May 25 election by pulling back Russian troops. The government in Kiev accused its eastern neighbor of seeking to destabilize the country before the ballot as Russia’s Foreign Ministry said holding the vote during a conflict will be “very difficult.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is “dismayed by the deadly overnight attack against a military checkpoint in eastern Ukraine” and appeals to all parties to increase efforts for free and fair elections to take place, Ban’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.