At a press conference in Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov blamed Kiev for renewed fighting and civilian deaths in Ukraine and questioned the West’s lack of condemnation.
Fighting between Ukraine government forces and pro-Russian separatists broke out last spring, slowing for a short-lived ceasefire agreed to in Minsk, Belarus, in September.
On Saturday, at least 30 civilians were killed in shelling in the southeastern city of Mariupol, while eight people died when a transit stop in the city of Donetsk was shelled Thursday. Both sides blamed the other for the deaths.
Lavrov said Moscow — which accuses Ukrainian forces of responsibility — had not heard a single statement from the West criticizing Kiev.
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The conflict in eastern Ukraine broke out last spring after Russia annexed Ukraine’s southeastern Crimea region and as pro-Russia separatists claimed control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. The ceasefire from Minsk crumbled long ago.
From mid-April to January 21, the conflict killed at least 5,086 people and injured at least 10,948 others, according to the United Nations.
No truce with Ukraine, rebel leader says
“We fear that the real figure may be considerably higher,” the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights said about the death toll in a report released Friday.
