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No death reported in E. Ukraine as ceasefire largely holds

12 December 2014 19:24 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. A ceasefire in eastern Ukraine appears largely to be holding as no death has been reported in the war-torn regions over the past day, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"I want to place on record that the gradual and mutual ceasefire is being established to enforce the regime of silence," Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for the country's National Security and Defense Council, said Friday.

Over the past day, independence-seeking insurgents carried out six attacks on positions held by government forces, which marked a sharp decrease in frequency, according to the spokesman.

Although government forces suffered no fatalities over the past 24 hours, one Ukrainian soldier was wounded in a landmine explosion, Lysenko said.

Separately, the press center of the Ukrainian military operation said that two civilians were injured overnight during gunfire attacks launched by insurgents in several villages in Lugansk region.

Meanwhile, the press service of the rebel forces confirmed that the ceasefire with government troops was in place despite sporadic clashes.

The rebels said the Ukrainian army violated the truce agreement four times over the past day, wounding an insurgent fighter.

The warring sides in eastern Ukraine on Tuesday declared the truce, halting large-scale hostilities in the conflict, which has already killed over 4,300 people.

If the ceasefire continues, the sides are expected to withdraw heavy weapons from the frontlines and start talks to establish a long-term truce in the region.