Comment on Ukraine: 13 troops killed in fight with Russia-backed rebels

KIEV, Ukraine — Russian-backed separatists kept up their assault Sunday on the railway hub in eastern Ukraine, fighting that authorities said has killed 13 government troops and wounded 20 others over the last day. The separatists were attacking several villages around the town of Debaltseve, a key rail link between the two rebel strongholds of Donetsk and Luhansk, Security Council spokesman Vladimir Polevoi said.