London, May 22 (IANS): At least eight soldiers were killed and 15 injured Thursday in the eastern Ukrainian town of Donetsk when armed separatists attacked a security checkpoint, a media report said.
The incident occurred at a checkpost in the Volnovakha area, BBC reported.
According to the UN, at least 127 people have been killed in the last few months of escalating tensions.
The pro-Russian activists in the eastern towns of Donetsk and Luhansk have vowed to boycott the upcoming Ukrainian presidential elections scheduled for May 25.
Ukraine plunged into chaos in late February after the ouster of the previous cabinet and president Viktor Yanukovych, which resulted in its Black Sea Crimean peninsula breaking away and joining Russia.
Less than a month later, unrest began in eastern Ukrainian regions where separatists are demanding independence from Kiev and closer ties with Moscow.