Rebel attacks kill 19 Ukrainian soldiers near rail junction in east - Kiev military

People gather near a destroyed vehicle at a bus station after shelling in Donetsk, February 11, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

KIEV (Reuters) - Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near the key railway town of Debaltseve, which government troops are defending, a military spokesman said on Wednesday.

"In shelling, rocket attacks and military clashes, Ukraine lost 19 soldiers including 17 members of the armed forces and two interior ministry soldiers," the spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, told a briefing.