Ukraine's Poroshenko: ‘Colossal threat’ of heavy fighting looms

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Thursday warned of the “colossal threat” of major clashes in eastern Ukraine, where at least 26 people have died recently in renewed fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels.

The Ukrainian army accused pro-Russian separatist forces of launching a large-scale attack on the settlement of Maryinka, west of Donetsk, in breach of the four-month-old truce brokered by the West.

A senior separatist commander, Eduard Basurin, said that 16 rebels and five civilians had died over the past 24 hours, with an estimated 38 civilians and 86 rebels wounded. Kiev authorities said that five soldiers had been killed and 39 wounded in the latest upsurge in fighting.

The fighting had died down on Wednesday afternoon and Ukrainian authorities said on Thursday they were clearing mines and unexploded shells.

Separatist forces denied that they had gone on the offensive, saying they had reacted to defend their people from a “genocide.”

At least two civilians and three Ukrainian troops were also killed in shelling in the same region on Sunday.

The upsurge in fighting has revived fears in Kiev that the separatists have used the lull since the truce to regroup and may be gearing up for a new push into government-controlled territory.

“There remains a colossal threat of resumption of large-scale fighting on the part of Russian terrorist groups,” Poroshenko said on Thursday in his annual address to parliament, referring to the insurgents.

Poroshenko alleged that more than 9,000 Russian soldiers were now in east Ukraine to support the rebellion, adding that Moscow kept supplying rebels with new weapons.

The European Union expressed alarm over the escalation, calling it “the most serious violation” yet of the February ceasefire. Germany's foreign minister expressed “great concern” over the “serious violations” of the February truce, warning of the threat of military escalation.

“We must urgently aim to bring the situation under control,” Frank-Walter Steinmeier said. “The truce is fragile. The violations can lead to us again falling back into a state of military escalation.”

Speaking in Moscow on Thursday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the peace deal faced a "constant threat" from the Ukrainian authorities.

“The Feb. 12 Minsk agreements are under constant threat of breaking down because of the actions of the Kiev authorities who are trying to avoid fulfilling their obligations to establish direct dialogue with the Donbass,” Lavrov said, referring to the rebel-controlled territory.

The Kremlin accused Kiev of seeking to torpedo the truce ahead of an EU summit in June that will focus on whether to extend sanctions against Russia set to expire in July.

“No doubt these provocations are being organized by the Ukrainian army,” said Dmitry Peskov, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman. “We are seriously worried by this indeed.”

The hot-button issue of Russian sanctions is also expected to come up at a Group of Seven summit in Germany this weekend.

The United States, which has also hit Moscow with stinging sanctions, said it was disturbed by the new clashes, warning that if the crisis escalated Moscow would face further punishment.

Kiev and the West accuse Moscow of backing the Russian-speaking rebels with weapons, money and troops. Russia denies that it is behind the fighting in Ukraine that has killed 6,400 people since April 2014.

Wire services