KYIV: A Ukrainian soldier died Tuesday and six suffered injuries in clashes with Moscow-backed rebels in the separatist east, the army said, as fears grow that Russia is preparing to invade.

The casualty came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognised two rebel Ukrainian regions that have been fighting a deadly insurgency since 2014.

Ukraine soldier killed in clashes

He then signed two decrees ordering Russian "peacekeepers" to support the regions' claims.

"One soldier was killed" as a result of shelling from separatist-held areas in the Lugansk region, military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchuk told AFP.

Eight Ukrainian soldiers have died since the beginning of the year, with five of them killed in intensifying clashes over the past three days.