Violence in Ukraine has left 2119 dead (including 20 children) since April 2014

The figures of casualties in east Ukraine and released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs as on 15 August 2014 and reported in bbc.com are frightening. At least 2,119 have died since mid-April, including at least 20 children, 5,043 people have been wounded in east Ukraine as of 13 August, on an average there are 60 casualties per day. So far, 55,800 people have been internally displaced and 188,000 have fled to Russia. Out of them, 22,000 have fled Donetsk and Luhansk in a five-day period last week. Ukrainian military officials have revealed that at least 17 civilians were killed when a convoy of refugees came under mortar and rocket fire south-east of Luhansk. It may be noted that the trouble erupted in east Ukraine when Russia annexed Crimea and pro-Russian activists took over important cities in east Ukraine like Donetsk, Luhsansk etcetera. Heavy fighting has been reported from the rebel-held areas of eastern Ukraine, with street clashes in the center of the key city of Luhansk. There have also been shelling near the rebel headquarters in Donetsk. An aide to Ukraine's interior ministry, Anton Gerashenko, has informed that 14 Russian TV channels had been banned from cable networks in Ukraine because these channels, like Russia Today and Life News had been broadcasting propaganda of war and violence. It is understood that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be meeting Ukraine's Petro Poroshenko next week in view of the increase in the number of civilian casualties. The pro-Russian separatists in the eastern regions of Luhansk and Donetsk had declared independence from Kiev and proclaimed their own people's republics after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in March.