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Clashes In Eastern Ukraine Between Security Forces, Rebels Leave 8 Dead

Clashes In Eastern Ukraine Leave 8 Dead
Reuters
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DOBROPILLYA, UKRAINE - MAY 21: Members of the Donbass Battalion, a pro-Ukraine militia, arrive to meet with the local mayor to ensure the integrity of the upcoming presidential election on May 21, 2014 in Dobropillya, Ukraine. Days before presidential elections are scheduled, questions remain whether the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk are stable enough to administer the vote. (Photo by Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images)

(Adds details, border guard clash, background)

KIEV, May 22 (Reuters) - At least eight Ukrainian security personnel were killed and 18 wounded in overnight clashes with pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine three days before a presidential election in the former Soviet Reoblic.

Security sources said on Thursday the main clash took place about 20 km (12 miles) south of the industrial hub of Donetsk, which is now in the hands of the separatists who say they will disrupt the election.

Ukrainian forces also fought separatists in the neighboring Luhansk region but there was no word about any casualties there.

The defense ministry confirmed that several people had been killed in the firefight near Donetsk but gave no precise death toll. It said the clash occurred when gunmen opened fire on an army checkpoint near the town of Volnovakha.

Separately, Ukrainian border guards said they had rebuffed an attempt by dozens of separatists, armed with grenade launchers and rifles, to enter the Luhansk region overnight from Russia. Several guards were hurt in the fighting.

Ukrainian security forces and the pro-Moscow separatists have clashed repeatedly in recent weeks in eastern Ukraine, where the breakdown of security has rattled the pro-Western interim government in Kiev.

Kiev has acknowledged that Sunday's election cannot be held in parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions and has accused Moscow of deliberately seeking to undermine Ukrainian democracy, a charge echoed by the United States and European Union.

Russia denies the legitimacy of the current Kiev government, which took over after mass street protests toppled Moscow-backed president Viktor Yanukovich in February. He fled to Russia and in March Russia seized Ukraine's Black Sea peninsula of Crimea.

President Vladimir Putin asserts that Moscow has the right to intervene on behalf of Russian speakers outside Russia's borders and has expressed sympathy for people in eastern Ukraine who he says face discrimination and harassment by the Kiev government. (Reporting By Pavel Polityuk and Natalia Ziniets,; Writing by Gareth Jones, Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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Before You Go

Separatists Tighten Control On East Ukraine
(01 of22)
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An elderly man stands next a barricade near the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 22, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(02 of22)
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Mourners attend the funeral of men killed in a gunfight on April 20, 2014, in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, held on April 22, 2014. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(03 of22)
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Mourners keep watch outside the house of a pro-Russian activist after his remains were brought to his home in the small village of Aleksandrovka, following a funeral service on April 22, 2014 near Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(04 of22)
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A pro-Russian militant looks out from the barricaded entrance of the city council building on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(05 of22)
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Commander of the so-called army of southeast Ukraine, Valeriy Bolotov, speaks to the press after he was pronounced the 'people's governor' in the secret service building of Luhansk, Ukraine on April 21, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(06 of22)
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The separatist leader of the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk, Vyacheslav Ponomaryov (L), leaves after holding a press conference in Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(07 of22)
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A pro-Russian activist guards a barricade outside the regional administrative building as a flag of the so-called 'People's Republic of Donetsk' hung in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk on April 21, 2014. (ANATOLIY STEPANOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(08 of22)
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Children pose for a picture with a pro-Russian militant outside the city council building on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(09 of22)
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Ievgeniy Gorbik, a spokesperson for the pro-Russian militants occupying Slovyansk, speaks to the press in front of a tank parked near the security service building on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(10 of22)
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A boy rides his bike in front of a barricade near the Slovyansk police station on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russian militant sits on top of an armored personnel carrier in front of the occupied security service building on April 21, 2014 in Slovyansk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russia activist hangs a flag of the so-called 'People's Republic of Donetsk' on the regional administration building seized by separatists as armed men in military fatigues guard the premises in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(13 of22)
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A woman and child with an armed man in military fatigues guarding a barricade outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(14 of22)
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Pro-Russia activists sing the Russian national anthem during a pro-Russia rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 21, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(15 of22)
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Pro-Russia activists sing the Russian national anthem during a pro-Russia rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk on April 21, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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A pro-Russia supporter stands at a barricade outside the regional police building seized by separatists in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(17 of22)
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An armed man in military fatigues guards a barricade outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(18 of22)
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An armoured personnel carrier with a Russian flag drives outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 21, 2014. (GENYA SAVILOV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(19 of22)
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An Orthodox priest blesses protesters during a pro-Russian rally outside the secret service building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Luhansk on April 21, 2014. (DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(20 of22)
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The bodyguard of the leader of the separatist rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk attends a press-conference in the city on April 20, 2014. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(21 of22)
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A young boy poses with an armed man in military fatigues guarding a barricade outside the regional administration building in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slavyansk on April 20, 2014. (KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
(22 of22)
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A pro-Russian activist stands guard outside of the Donetsk Regional Administration building on April 20, 2014 in Donetsk, Ukraine. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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