5 troops killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine

MOSCOW – At least five Ukrainian troops have been killed in an apparent uptick in fighting in eastern Ukraine.

An armed conflict between government troops and separatist rebels has killed more than 9,600 since it began in 2014, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. A January cease-fire had until recently helped to limit the fighting to sporadic shoot-outs.

The government's press office for the operation in the east said on Monday it recorded an uptick in fighting on several fronts on Sunday which left at least five killed and nine troops injured.

In the rebel stronghold of Donets, self-proclaimed separatist authorities reported substantial damage to civilian infrastructure, with several villages and Donetsk neighborhoods left without electricity and gas supply.