Fighting strains truce ahead of talks between EU, Russia, Ukraine

The cease-fire in Ukraine’s easternmost regions, sealed on 5 September, was broken several times during the past 24 hours, with two soldiers and 14 rebels killed

Russian separatists at a checkpoint near the airport in Donetsk
Russian separatists at a checkpoint near the airport in Donetsk

Fighting shook the east of Ukraine a day before its government begins three-way talks with Russian and European Union officials in Brussels to negotiate the resumption of natural-gas deliveries which were halted in June.

The cease-fire in Ukraine’s easternmost regions, sealed on 5 September, was broken several times during the past 24 hours, with two soldiers and 14 rebels killed, the military said yesterday.

Ukraine’s state energy company NAK Naftogaz Ukrainy said the government in Kiev and the European Commission reached a “consensus” before the talks today.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she wants the gas deal clinched and that a bridge loan for Ukraine may be needed to end the spat.

The standoff between the two countries is coming to a head four months after Russia halted shipments over a pricing and debt dispute as a separatist insurrection raged in eastern Ukraine.

The EU, which depends on Russian fuel piped across Ukraine for about 15 percent of its needs, has been seeking to broker a deal to avoid a repeat of supply cuts experienced in 2006 and 2009.