Nine Ukrainian soldiers were killed by tank fire Monday at the airport in the flashpoint city of Donetsk, according to the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Information Center. Twenty-seven were wounded in the fighting, said Andrey Lysenko, spokesman of the center, at his press briefing. In a separate incident, three civilians were killed and five injured in shelling overnight in Donetsk, the website of the city office said Monday. Residential and administrative buildings were damaged as a result of artillery fire, according to the site, which described the situation as tense. Ukrainian government forces have been fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine for months. Despite the ongoing violence in places such as Donetsk, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko insisted last week that a ceasefire signed with rebel leaders more than three weeks ago was holding.
Nine Ukrainian soldiers killed in clashes, Ukraine says . Twenty-seven soldiers also reportedly wounded . Three civilians were killed in overnight shelling in Donetsk .