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West raises pressure on Russia to save Ukraine truce

04 October 2014 22:27 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Western pressure mounted on Russia Saturday to save Ukraine's crumbling truce as pro-Kremlin insurgents staged intensifying raids on an airport vital for sustaining their independence drive, APA reports quoting AFP.

But analysts said Russian President Vladimir Putin was ready to weather isolation and economic sanctions as the cost of cementing his grip on Ukraine's industrial east.

At least 75 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have died since Moscow and Kiev signed a September 5 truce aimed at halting the five-month war that has claimed around 3,300 lives on the European Union's doorstep.

Ukrainian defence spokesman Andriy Lysenko said on Saturday that another two soldiers were killed in the past day. Local authorities said four civilians -- including two children who tried moving an unexploded shell -- had also lost their lives.

The original ceasefire was reinforced by a September 19 deal to set up a demilitarised zone along the frontline that severs a swathe of the Russian-speaking southeast claimed by the rebels from the rest of Ukraine.

But the fighting has raged on and no troop withdrawal has followed. The rebels have set sights on an airport on the edge of their main stronghold city of Donetsk that could give them unfettered access to Russian supplies.