Soldiers killed amid Russia tensions

The Ukrainian military said Friday two soldiers were killed and another was wounded under fire from Russia-backed separatist rebels in the country’s east, where hostilities have increased sharply in recent months. According to Ukraine’s military, 36 soldiers have been killed in the east this year. Ukrainian forces and Russiabacked separatists have been fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014. More than 14,000 people have died in the conflict and efforts to negotiate a political settlement have stalled. Russia, which claims it has no military presence in eastern Ukraine, fuelled new tensions this year by massing troops and conducting large-scale military exercises near its border with Ukraine.