WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — According to Kirby, six Ukrainian troops have been killed recently amid the harshest spike in violence since 2015.
"The United State is deeply concerned with a recent spike of violence in eastern Ukraine. Over just the last two days six Ukrainian service members have been killed, 33 wounded in a Russian attempt to cease additional Ukrainian territory, the highest two day casualty figure we have seen since June of 2015," Kirby said.
In February 2015, the two sides agreed to a ceasefire after talks brokered by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine – the so-called Normandy Format – in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.
Both sides in the conflict, however, have consistently accused each other of violating the ceasefire terms.