Hundreds killed as Ukraine-Russia fight resumes

Ukrainian authorities said Friday that government forces killed as many as 200 pro-Russia gunmen in the previous 24 hours and Moscow had sent in an armored column of 32 tanks and 30 truckloads of fighters.

The reported fatalities, which would be the highest one-day death toll in the 7-month-old war in eastern Ukraine, couldn’t be independently verified.

Reports of fighting across separatist-held areas of eastern Ukraine threatened to force another suspension of the just-resumed investigation at the Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 crash site, where more remains were found Thursday.

Fighting has resumed in the Donetsk region, where Moscow-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian government troops since April.

More than 4,000 people have been killed in the conflict regions, including more than 400 since a cease-fire was purportedly put into effect on Sept. 5.