Eight Ukrainian servicemen killed in past 24 hours despite peace deal

KIEV - Eight Ukrainian service personnel have been killed and 34 wounded in fighting against separatists in eastern Ukraine in the past 24 hours, a Kiev military spokesman said on Friday, despite a four-power peace deal worked out in Belarus.

"In the Donbass (eastern Ukraine), this night was not a calm one. The enemy shelled positions of the 'anti-terrorist operation' forces with the same intensity as before," a statement by the military said.

Fighting had been particularly intense around Debaltseve, a key railway junction linking the two main rebel areas, where separatists had used rockets and artillery to attack government forces holding the town, the statement said.

"Following military action and shelling ... Ukraine lost eight service personnel and 34 others were wounded," military spokesman Vladyslav Seleznyov said.