At Least 12 Ukrainian Soldiers Killed, 18 Injured in Donbas Road Accident

Ukrainian forces’ press service said that the National Guard’s vehicle collided with a bus during a rotation of troops in Donbas.

MOSCOW, January 6 (Sputnik) — At least 12 soldiers from the National Guard of Ukraine were killed and 18 sustained injuries when a military vehicle collided with a bus in Ukraine’s south-east.

The National Guard’s KrAZ vehicle collided with a Bogdan bus during a troop rotation in the area of the military operation in Donbas on Monday. According to preliminary investigation results, the accident was caused by bad weather conditions, the Ukrainian forces’ press service said.

A commission composing representatives of the military prosecutor's office and the National Guard, traffic police, and an investigative team from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry is currently at the scene, while the injured servicemen have been transported to a hospital in the city of Artemovsk near Donetsk.

Ukrainian forces have been carrying out a military operation against independence supporters in Ukraine’s south-east since April. Residents of the Donetsk and Luhansk provinces in eastern Ukraine established a people's republics that later declared their independence following a February coup in Kiev.

According to the latest UN estimates, more than 4,700 people have been killed in the course of the conflict, while more than 10,000 have been wounded.