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KIEV, Ukraine (AP) At least six Ukrainian troops have been killed in more than two days of fighting as separatists intensified shelling of government positions ahead of peace talks expected in the coming week, Ukrainian military officials said Friday.

The press office for military operations in eastern Ukraine said army outposts had been targeted 50 times by small arms fire, mortars and rockets over the past day. Separatists accused the Ukrainian army of likewise mounting dozens of rocket attacks throughout Thursday and into Friday.

The intensification in hostilities comes one month after a renewed truce led to a marked lull in the fighting that originally broke out in the spring.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Friday that four soldiers died in fighting over the previous day. Later, the National Guard said in a statement that two of its servicemen were killed during an armed clash Friday outside the separatist-held city of Luhansk.

An AP reporter heard rockets being fired Thursday evening into the separatist stronghold of Donetsk an indication that government forces are breaching the cease-fire. Separatist authorities in Donetsk said Friday that a hospital building was struck by artillery fire earlier in the week, but that there were no casualties.

Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France are expected to meet Thursday in Kazakhstan to consider solutions to the conflict. The talks, not yet confirmed, will be seen as an attempt by Moscow to seek a softening of EU sanctions imposed last year in response to its annexation of Crimea and its perceived material support of separatist forces in Ukraine.

In a signal of possible softening of positions in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Thursday that there are "some limited positive signs on the Russian side."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said on his Twitter account Friday that he will meet with his counterparts from Russia, Germany and France for talks in Berlin on Monday.

On the ground in Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, there have been indications of mounting tensions in recent days.

Ukrainian military press spokesmen have reported an uptick in shelling by separatists and the resumption in the use of Grad and Uragan multiple rocket launchers. At least four villages were hit by Grad rockets Thursday, officials said.

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Ukraine says separatists intensifying rocket attacks

The way to peace in Ukraine remains a long and rocky path, Germany said, after its foreign minister agreed to meet his Russian, Ukrainian, and French counterparts next week to discuss potential resolutions.

The Jan. 12 meeting in Berlin will follow some limited positive signs on the Russian side, European Union foreign-policy chief Federica Mogherini said yesterday. Still, implementing a Sept. 5 truce agreed in Minsk, Belarus was difficult to imagine without a sustained cease-fire and the removal of heavy weapons and humanitarian access to the conflict zone, Germanys Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Even if many difficult questions remain to be clarified and there is no guarantee at all of real progress, we want to do everything possible to enable political compromise, the ministry said in an e-mailed statement. On Monday we want to try once again to remove barriers from the path. It would be wrong not to attempt it.

Standoff in Ukraine

The diplomatic efforts underscore the sharp divide between Ukraine and Russia. The government in Kiev and its U.S. and European allies say President Vladimir Putins administration is supporting the rebels in a conflict that has killed 4,700 and triggered the worst standoff between Russia and its Cold War adversaries since the fall of the Iron Curtain.

The foreign ministers are trying to arrange a summit of leaders in the Kazakh capital Astana.

Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who would host the potential negotiations, discussed ways to resolve the conflict with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, according to a statement on his website. Earlier today, the Kazakh leader discussed questions of further international assistance to resolve the crisis, with Putin, the Kremlin said in an e-mailed statement.

Pro-Russian separatists intensified attacks against government troops, killing four soldiers and wounding eight more, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters today in Kiev. Insurgents attacked Ukrainian positions 50 times, including 18 artillery strikes, the military said on Facebook. The assaults came after a convoy of 124 trucks carrying what Russia said was humanitarian aid arrived in rebel-held territory yesterday.

Ukraine condemned the convoy, Russias 11th. The government in Kiev says it cant inspect the supplies and that by crossing the border in rebel-held areas Russia is violating Ukraines sovereignty and international law.

Mogherini joined a chorus of EU leaders in recent weeks in suggesting the bloc may possibly ease the sanctions it has imposed against Russian companies and individuals if Putins government works toward implementing the cease-fire agreed in Minsk, Belarus, in September.

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European Envoys Work for Ukraine Peace Talks as Fighting Surges

Published January 09, 2015

Dec. 24, 2014: Ukrainian soldiers at a military base in Kramatorsk, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine.(AP)

KIEV, Ukraine Ukrainian military officials said Friday that four soldiers were killed in one day as separatists intensified shelling of government positions ahead of peace talks expected in the coming week.

The press office for military operations in eastern Ukraine said army outposts were targeted 50 times by small arms fire, mortars and rockets over the last day.

Intensification in hostilities comes one month after a renewed truce led to a marked lull in the fighting that broke out in the spring.

An AP reporter heard rockets being fired Thursday evening into the separatist stronghold of Donetsk an indication that government forces are also likely breaching the cease-fire. Separatist authorities in Donetsk said Friday that a hospital building was struck by artillery fire earlier in the week, but that there were no casualties.

Leaders of Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France are expected to meet Thursday in Kazakhstan to consider solutions to the conflict. The talks, not yet confirmed, will be seen as an attempt by Moscow to seek a softening of EU sanctions imposed last year in response to its annexation of Crimea and its perceived material support of separatist forces in Ukraine.

In a signal of possible softening of positions in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said Thursday that there are "some limited positive signs on the Russian side."

On the ground in the Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions, there have been indications of mounting tensions in recent days.

Ukrainian military press spokesmen have reported an uptick in shelling by separatists and the resumption in the use of Grad and Uragan multiple rocket launchers. At least four villages were hit by Grad rockets Thursday, officials said.

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4 killed as shelling intensifies in Ukraine

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