Armed opposition forces in eastern Ukraine have shot down a government military helicopter amid heavy fighting around Slovyansk, killing 14 soldiers including a general.
Ukrainian authorities say the helicopter was brought down by a portable air defense missile.
Interim president Oleksandr Turchynov:
"One of our helicopters, which was bringing in armed forces servicemen for military rotation, was shot down by terrorists who used the Russian weapon PZRK. Fourteen of our soldiers were killed including General Kulchitskiy."
Slovyansk, 160 kilometers from the Russian border, has become the epicenter of fighting between opposition and government forces in recent weeks.
Newly elected President Petro Poroshenko has vowed to tackle "terrorists" in the east.
Earlier, the United Nations expressed concern about what it describes as a "dramatic increase" in deadly fighting in Ukraine's east.
Jeffrey Feltman is the UN's under-secretary-general for political affairs.'
"The Secretary-General remains committed to help find a peaceful resolution to the crisis in Ukraine, and to assist the country in prevailing over the many difficult challenges which lie ahead. In this vein, he appeals to the international community to use the outcome of the elections as an opportunity to unite in support of a peaceful, stable, prosperous, and united Ukraine."
China has said that a political solution is the only way out of Ukraine's crisis.
It has already put forward a three-point proposal to the UN Security Council on seeking a political solution to the unrest.
