Six Ukraine soldiers die in ambush as Germany tries to broker talks

Six Ukrainian soldiers were killed in a rebel ambush between the insurgent bastions of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk in the east of the country yesterday.

The defence ministry said a military convoy was attacked by a group of about 30 men who fired heavy weapons at the troops, triggering prolonged clashes that left another eight wounded.

The clashes came as Germany's foreign minister tried to broker talks between Ukraine's central government and pro-Russia separatists.

Speaking at Kiev's main airport, Berlin envoy Frank-Walter Steinmeier said Germany supported Ukraine's efforts to arrange for a dialogue between the central government and its opponents in the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that form the nation's industrial heartland.

Pro-Russia insurgents have seized government buildings and clashed with government forces in eastern Ukraine in the past month and are holding some journalists and others hostage.

Steinmeier voiced hope for a quick release of the hostages, the handover of occupied buildings and stressed the importance of holding Ukraine's presidential vote as planned on May 25.

The Ukrainian government and the West have accused Russia of fomenting the mutiny in the east to derail Ukraine's presidential vote and possibly grab more land. Steinmeier's trip is part of the road map for settling Ukraine's crisis laid out by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, a trans-Atlantic security group.