Ukraine border battles leave 15 dead as sanctions war heats up

August 09, 2014 00:19

Fierce battles on Ukraine's porous eastern border left 15 government troops dead as fears of a possible Russian invasion swirled today despite NATO urging Moscow to withdraw its troops along the frontier.

International tensions also rose as Western countries slammed a Russian food embargo imposed as revenge for sanctions slapped on Moscow over its backing for insurgents in Ukraine.

The renewed violence came after NATO chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen warned Moscow to "pull back from the brink" and as Western countries warned that Russia could be preparing to send troops across the border in the guise of a humanitarian mission.

Russian President Vladimir Putin today met with his national security council to discuss the situation in eastern Ukraine, especially the "massive humanitarian catastrophe" in the region.

Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev vowed that Moscow was trying its best "to de-escalate tensions", but Kiev said its positions continued to come under fire from Russian territory.

Ukraine's military said seven soldiers and eight border guards were killed over the past 24 hours as a bloody three-day battle with pro-Russian rebels forced several government units to retreat from the border in the southeast of the war-torn Lugansk region.

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