Death toll in eastern Ukraine uprising touches 181

Kiev, June 3: The death toll from a separatist uprising in eastern

has climbed to 181 with over 300 people injured so far, the country's acting Prosecutor General Oleg Makhnytsky said Tuesday.

"Terrorists' actions in Donetsk and Lugansk regions killed 181 and injured 293 people. At least 59 Ukrainian soldiers are among those killed," Xinhua quoted Makhnytsky as saying Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the unrest, Ukrainian authorities have opened 675 protest-related criminal cases, Makhnytsky said.

The unrest in mostly Russian-speaking eastern part of Ukraine started shortly after the ouster of former President Viktor Yanukovych in February and the Crimean peninsula's affiliation with Russia in March.

Armed protesters seized administrative buildings in several towns and cities across the area and declared independence from Kiev.

In an attempt to reassert control over the region, the Ukrainian military launched an "anti-terror" operation against insurgents in mid-April.

IANS