Ukrainian soldiers killed amid fears of full scale war

(Vatican Radio) Officials say at least four Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 14 injured since Thursday in one of the worst violations of a ceasefire since it was signed in September.

Listen to Stefan Bos' report: 

The clashes between Ukrainian government forces and pro-Russian separatists come amid international warnings of a full scale war in Ukraine.  

Amid the ongoing fighting, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko expressed concern over the plight of international observers. 

He rushed to hand over armoured vehicles to the ceasefire monitors of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Poroshenko warned them that attacks and artillery exchanges between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian government forces have increased since recent elections in rebel controlled areas.

And, the Ukrainian leader accused neighbouring Russia of supporting the rebels.

RUSSIAN FORCES

"The Ukrainian-Russian border, under independent OSCE monitoring, is repeatedly crossed by regular Russian forces," he claimed.

"The past few days have clearly proved that drones being used by the OSCE mission were shot at by rebels from territory which is not under the control of Ukrainian troops.”

But Moscow denies wrongdoing.

“I’m telling you very frankly and officially as well that there are no military forces or military movement across the border," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich. "Moreover we have no troops in Ukraine, in its south-east. There have never been, and there are none now,” he added.

The NATO military alliance and the United States disagree, saying there is mounting evidence of Russia's involvement in the conflict that has killed more than 4,000 people.

UN CONCERNED

America's United Nations ambassador, Samantha Power, told the U.N. Security Council that Russia is undermining a ceasefire in Ukraine. "The pattern is clear," she said. "Where Russia has made commitments it has failed to meet them. Russia has negotiated a peace plan and then systematically undermined it at every step. It talks of peace but it keeps fuelling war."

The U.N. Security Council said it was concerned about a possible full scale war in Ukraine.

Ukraine's crisis has led to the worst East-West confrontation since the Cold War: In one of the latest incidents the Netherlands said two Dutch F16 fighter jets, part of a NATO force patrolling the skies above the Baltic states, intercepted a Russian Ilyushin transport aircraft after it intruded into Estonian and Lithuanian air space.

And Russian media says the readily deployable Russian nuclear arsenal is growing and now matches that of the U.S. 

It comes at a time when Moscow seeks other allies. North Korea, itself flirting with nuclear weaponry, announced it would soon send a special envoy to Russia on behalf of its leader Kim Jong Un.