WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 - The Trump administration on Wednesday maintained a low-key approach to the latest flare-up of violence in eastern Ukraine, where the government accuses Russian-backed forces of stepping up attacks, AP reported.

The restrained tone may reflect the start of a new U.S. approach to dealing with Russia's cross-border activity, even as top U.S. officials are pledging to support Ukraine's sovereignty.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer had little to say on Wednesday when asked for the administration's position on the renewed fighting that began over the weekend and persisted into early Wednesday. At least 10 people have been killed and dozens wounded. President Donald Trump has been "kept aware of developments" in Ukraine, Spicer said, and the White House will "have further updates as we go on." It was not immediately clear when those updates would come.

The new rhetoric comes amid significant concern in Europe about Trump's overtures to Russia. The new president has called NATO "obsolete" and challenged America's allies to take on greater responsibility for defending themselves, while raising the possibility of a new era of U.S.-Russian cooperation.

On Tuesday, the State Department responded to the violence in Ukraine but omitted any mention of Russia in a six-sentence statement that called for an immediate cease-fire and full implementation of the agreements meant to outline a political resolution to the crisis.

Trump's U.N. ambassador, Nikki Haley, met with her Ukrainian counterpart "to reaffirm the United States' support for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine," according to a statement.

Ukraine's U.N. envoy, Volodymyr Yelchenko, said Wednesday that Haley told him the U.S. is "completely against the way Russia is dealing with the eastern part of Ukraine."

The omission of Russia from the responses contrasted sharply with statements by the Obama administration, which sharply criticized Moscow for supporting and even directing attacks by the separatists, and not fulfilling its obligations under the 2015 truce plan signed in Minsk, Belarus.

The State Department statement reaffirmed U.S. backing for the Minsk plans, but that reference only came about after internal interagency discussions in Washington.
According to an American official with knowledge of the discussions, White House officials questioned why the Minsk agreements needed to be mentioned at all even though the U.S. has insisted for almost two years on the deal's full implementation. The official wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter and demanded anonymity.

"The United States is deeply concerned with the recent spike in violence in eastern Ukraine," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said in the statement. "To avert a larger humanitarian crisis, we call for an immediate, sustained cease-fire and full and unfettered access for OSCE monitors. We also reaffirm U.S. support for full implementation of the Minsk agreements." (ap/ez)