Russia, Germany, France raise alarm over fighting in Ukraine
The leaders of Russia, Germany and France have raised the alarm about a recent uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine, the Kremlin said on Tuesday. President Vladimir Putin's office said on Tuesday Putin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande discussed Ukraine in a telephone call earlier in the day and condemned recent fighting in eastern Ukraine.
The conflict in Ukraine's industrial heartland between Russia-backed separatists and government troops has killed more than 9,500 people since it began in 2014. Despite 2015 peace accords signed in Minsk, Belarus, which initially helped to halt the fighting and then lower its intensity, international monitors have reported more clashes in the past weeks, some involving heavy weaponry.
