Rebel attacks kill 19 Ukrainian soldiers near rail junction in east - Kiev military

Pro-Russian separatists gather on a road on the outskirts of Vuhlehirsk, eastern Ukraine February 10, 2015. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

KIEV (Reuters) - Nineteen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed and 78 wounded in rebel attacks near the key railway town of Debaltseve, which government troops are defending, a military spokesman said on Wednesday. "In shelling, rocket attacks and military clashes, Ukraine lost 19 soldiers including 17 members of the armed forces and two interior ministry soldiers," the spokesman, Vladyslav Seleznyov, told a briefing. (Reporting by Richard Balmforth; Editing by John Stonestreet)