Ukraine conflict

In eastern Ukraine, two Ukrainian soldiers and two pro-Russia rebel soldiers were killed in clashes on Aug. 18, the first such deaths in many months following a cease-fire agreement.

On Aug. 23, five Ukrainian soldiers were killed and seven were injured when pro-Russia rebels attacked a stronghold outside of the rebel-held region of Luhansk.

Each side blamed the other for the sudden escalation of the civil war that has been ongoing in Ukraine since 2014 and has left more than 10,000 people dead. A new cease-fire agreement, negotiated to allow students to safely begin the school year, went into effect on Aug. 29.

On Aug. 31, the leader of the rebel forces in the region of Donetsk was killed, and another ranking official was wounded, in an explosion at a café in the town of Separ. At press time, no group had taken responsibility for the bombing.