The UN has found that at least 331 people have died in fighting in eastern Ukraine despite the cease-fire agreed to by the Kiev government and armed separatists in early September, The New York Times reported.
The UN found that artillery, tank, and small-arms fire was ongoing in and around the separatist hotbeds of Donetsk and Luhansk, where pro-Moscow rebels have proclaimed independence from Ukraine. The September cease-fire followed a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine meant to prevent the country's last pockets of separatist resistance from falling during a Ukrainian military offensive. It's now apparent that the cease-fire hasn't really put a halt to hostilities.
These latest reported casualties bring the total number of fighters and civilians killed in the Ukraine conflict to at least 3,660. A report by Gianni Magazzeni, a senior United Nations human rights official, stated that most civilian deaths were caused by shelling of residential areas by both pro-Russian separatists and a Ukrainian army bent on wrestling the breakaway regions back under Kiev's control.
Fighting at the Ukrainian army-held Donetsk airport — one of the conflict's major flashpoints— has also continued for over a week. Photos of a collapsed airport terminal circulated on Twitter on Wednesday morning.
#BreakingPicture Most of the structure of #Donetsk#airport's Terminal 1 has collapsed due to Russian shelling. pic.twitter.com/c0lk12SXBR
— Conflict Reporter (@Conflict_Report) October 8, 2014This before picture makes it clear. 70-80% of the front collapsed so far. #RussiaDestroysUkrainepic.twitter.com/IlobehF2I4
— Conflict Reporter (@Conflict_Report) October 8, 2014The Los Angeles Time is also reporting that Russian surveillance drones are scouting areas around the strategically crucial Ukrainian government-held frontline city of Mariupol, perhaps to scout targets for a future offensive.
The war in Ukraine is continuing despite the cease-fire — raising fears of what the conflict might begin to look like if and when the agreement officially collapses.
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