Ukraine on Sunday reported the death of two soldiers, while pro-Russian rebels accused Kiev's forces of killing a civilian as fresh clashes preceded peace talks aimed at ending the 15-month war. Kiev military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said two government troops were killed and six wounded in mortar fire and shelling across swathes of the eastern separatist Donetsk province over the past day.
Lysenko told reporters that "activity had especially picked up" around the industrial Sea of Azov port of Mariupol that the rebels have been trying to seize to establish an export gateway for the steel and coal mines they now control.
Insurgency commander said that shells from Kiev-held positions around the city of Donetsk had killed a civilian and wounded two others in the rebels' main stronghold.
Separatist negotiator Denis Pushilin called the reported attack "a grave violation of the Minsk agreement" that Russia and Ukraine signed in mid-February during talks involving the leaders of Germany and France. The four countries' foreign ministers are due to meet in Paris on Tuesday to try to salvage the accord.
June has witnessed an upsurge in violence that has killed more than 50 people after a three-month lull.