A woman and a boy react next to the body of Ukrainian Army captain Anton Sydorov, 35, killed in eastern Ukraine, during his funeral, in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, February 22, 2022. Western leaders said Tuesday that Russian troops have moved into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin s recognised their independence but some indicated it was not yet the long-feared full-fledged invasion as confusion reigned in the region. AP
The casualty came after Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday recognised two rebel Ukrainian regions that have been fighting a deadly insurgency since 2014.
He then signed two decrees ordering Russian "peacekeepers" to support the regions' claims.
"One soldier was killed" as a result of shelling from separatist-held areas in the Lugansk region, military spokesman Pavlo Kovalchuk told AFP.
Eight Ukrainian soldiers have died since the beginning of the year, with five of them killed in intensifying clashes over the past three days.
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