At least 11 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in an overnight attack by pro-Russian separatists in the restive eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, media reports say.
Nine members of Ukrainian security forces were reportedly killed and 17 were injured when gunmen armed with automatic rifles and anti-tank weapons attacked an armored vehicle near a military checkpoint in the Volnovakha area of Donetsk.
Ukrainian Defense Ministry said the attack was carried out by heavily armed "terrorists."
In another attack, separatists hit a convoy of vehicles in Rubizhne, in the neighboring Luhansk region, killing one Ukrainian soldier.
National Security and Defense Council Secretary Andriy Parubiy told reporters that he could not confirm the number of troop casualties.
In a separate development, Valeriy Bolotov, the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic, declared martial law in the region on Thursday.
In the wake of the deadliest attack on Ukrainian soldiers, the country's interim Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk has called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
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