DHAKA: A dawn attack on a checkpoint in eastern Ukraine has left at least 14 soldiers dead, in the worst loss of life for government forces to date.

Heavily armed militants attacked the checkpoint in the Volnovakha area, in one of four attacks reported overnight in eastern Ukraine.

It is unclear who attacked the checkpoint, with one Ukrainian officer telling the media it was not separatists, reports the BBC.

The attacks come just three days before Ukraine's presidential election.

Ukraine's interim prime minister, Arseny Yatseniuk, has called for an emergency session of the UN Security Council, saying he has evidence of Russian involvement in the violence.

Russia appears to be withdrawing troops from its border with Ukraine, easing fears of a military intervention like in Crimea in March.

Nato chief Anders Fogh Rasmussen said in a tweet that Russian troop activity near the Ukraine border might suggest that some Russian forces were preparing to pull back.

Ukrainians go to the polls on Sunday to choose a new president but voting in Donetsk and Luhansk has been seriously disrupted by the insurgency there.

BDST: 1947 HRS, MAY 22, 2014