Ukraine Soldier Killed, 7 Injured in East

A Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven others injured as bombardments intensified in the east of the country where government forces are fighting pro-Russian rebels, the army said Sunday.

It was the latest reported fatality in a year-long conflict which has killed more than 6,000 people.

Despite a ceasefire deal, European OSCE monitors say shelling is rumbling on daily at the front between the two sides.

Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk accused the pro-Russian side of intensifying its fire against Ukrainian army positions.

He told a news conference at noon on Sunday that one Ukrainian soldier was killed and seven injured over the past 24 hours.

"The number of violations of the ceasefire by the rebels has increased in the past 24 hours," he said, accusing them of using Grad multiple rocket launchers and other heavy artillery banned under the February ceasefire deal.

The OSCE said on April 20 that some of the separatists' heavy arms appeared to have been moved from the sites where they were supposed to have been placed after being withdrawn under the ceasefire.

The organization said rebel leaders told it those arms had been moved in preparation for a parade on May 9 to mark the 70th anniversary of victory in World War II.

With spring arriving, some Ukrainian officials fear fighting will surge anew once Russia's celebrations of that anniversary are out of the way.