ST. PETERSBURG, Russia – Russia will recognize the outcome of Ukraine’s presidential vote, President Vladimir Putin promised Friday, voicing hope that Ukraine’s new leader would halt the military operation against separatists in the east.
But clashes between pro-Russia separatists and government forces appeared to be heating up, leaving 20 more rebels and one solider dead, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry reported Friday. AP reporters saw three other bodies.
Up to 500 insurgents attacked a convoy of government troops in a clash that lasted for several hours Thursday and killed 20 rebels outside the eastern village of Rubizhne, the ministry said. It also said one soldier was killed early Friday near the same area after insurgents ambushed Ukrainian troops in a separate clash.
These claims from the Luhansk region – which has declared independence from Kiev – could not be independently confirmed. It was also not immediately clear why reports of such a major clash in a populated area took more than a day to surface.
In Kiev, Ukraine’s caretaker president urged all voters to take part in Sunday’s crucial ballot to “cement the foundation of our nation.” Yet it was uncertain whether any voting could take place in eastern Ukraine, where, in addition to the fighting, a vote boycott and threats against election workers were disrupting the upcoming ballot.