Ukraine to call up 10,000 soldiers in new mobilisation drive

A sniper of Ukraine's National Guard attends an opening ceremony of a sniper's training centre at the Guard's training base near Kiev, Ukraine, March 18, 2016. REUTERS/Valentyn Ogirenko

KIEV (Reuters) - Ukraine's military will call up some 10,000 men and seek volunteers to replace some of the 45,000 soldiers who are due to return home after more than a year on the front lines in the separatist east, President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday.

A February 2015 ceasefire failed to completely halt the conflict with pro-Russian rebels that is entering its third year. Sixteen soldiers have been killed so far in March - the army's highest monthly death toll since August, according to Reuters calculations based on military data.