- Intense clashes between Ukraine’s rebels and military forces ensued claiming almost 19 soldiers’ lives after a rocket was fired from a truck-mounted Grad rocket launcher system (a weapon which US believes can only have been secretly provided by Russia).
- The military have also killed many separatists and have managed to reclaim many eastern towns of Ukraine pushing the militia to the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk, both of which are seeking annexation by Russia.
- The crisis has claimed the lives of over 500 and displaced lakhs of people, even reports of torture and abductions have surfaced.
- It has also divided Ukraine’s society as many ethnic Russians feel marginalized by their nationalistic leaders prompting them to move across the eastern border in search of a new home.
- Read at:http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-international/rebels-kill-23-ukraine-troops/article6202528.ece