9 dead as shelling increases in eastern Ukraine

At least seven civilians and two Ukrainian troops were killed overnight on Monday in eastern Ukraine as shelling from the warring sides intensified.

The fighting between Russia-backed separatist rebels and Ukrainian government troops in the country’s industrial heartland eased after a truce was signed in February.

But despite pledges to withdraw heavy caliber weapons from the front lines, both sides seem to be engaged in recent heavy fighting. The conflict has killed an estimated 6,400 people since April 2014, according to the United Nations.

The rebel mouthpiece Donetsk News Agency said artillery fire killed three people in a front line town of Horlivka and two in the rebel capital of Donetsk.

Ukrainian officials reported two civilian deaths on their side, in a suburb of Mariupol on the Black Sea.