Civilians, soldiers die in east Ukraine fighting as Putin visits Crimea

A man cries as he inspects debris while standing outside his damaged house, which according to locals was caused by recent shelling, in Donetsk, Ukraine, August 17, 2015. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Fighting flared between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed rebels in separate parts of eastern Ukraine overnight, killing at least two Ukrainian soldiers and several civilians, Kiev's military and separatist sources said on Monday.

The clashes, near the port of Mariupol in the southeast and at rebel-held Horlivka, further frayed an increasingly tenuous ceasefire as Ukraine prepared to mark its Independence Day next week.