YANAKIYEVE, Ukraine — Seven Ukrainian troops were killed in overnight fighting in the restive east, Ukrainian officials said Friday, as clashes between government forces and pro-Russian rebels continued two days after President Petro Poroshenko said he would soon call a unilateral cease-fire. Rebels were operating tanks in the region, a sore spot between Russia and Ukraine, which accuses Russia of letting the vehicles cross the border. Vladislav Seleznev, spokesman for Ukrainian forces in the east, said seven soldiers were killed and 30 injured in fighting against pro-Russian separatists outside the village of Yampil in the Donetsk region since Thursday. Seleznev said 300 rebels were killed, but that could not be immediately verified. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced concern about the Ukrainian military onslaught, while NATO on Thursday reported that Russia was resuming a military build-up at the Ukrainian border. – AP
