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Ukraine is close to war says German foreign minister
Ukraine is close to war, warns German minister
Ukraine is close to war, the German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, has warned in interviews published in four European newspapers on Tuesday.
Dozens are feared to have died in clashes outside Slavyansk on Monday as Ukrainian troops clashed with pro-Russia separatists outside the rebel stronghold of Slavyansk.
"The bloody pictures from Odessa have shown us that we are just a few steps away from a military confrontation," Steinmeier told El País, Le Monde, La Repubblica and Gazeta Wyborcza. He added that the conflict had taken on an intensity "that a short time ago we would not have considered possible".
The acting Ukrainian interior minister, Arsen Avakov, claimed that more than 30 pro-Russia separatists had been killed in fighting outside the key rebel town on Monday.
Location of Monday's clashes
"We estimate that the terrorists lost more than 30 people," Avakov wrote on his Facebook page. The Guardian was unable to confirm the figure.
According to officials, four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and at least 30 injured in clashes with separatists as the army attempted to regain control of eastern Ukraine. The fighting on the outskirts of Slavyansk, the base of the armed movement that has taken over a number of cities, was triggered when pro-Russian rebels reportedly ambushed Ukrainian forces.
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