2 killed in E. Ukraine as clashes persist despite truce

Clashes between government troops and pro-independence insurgents persisted in eastern Ukraine in the past day despite a ceasefire regime, leaving two people dead, authorities said Thursday.

The press service of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) said one Ukrainian soldier was killed and another one wounded in the conflict over the last 24 hours.

Besides, a 40-year-old woman was killed in a shelling of the government-controlled Avdeevka town, 20 km north of the rebel stronghold of Donetsk, the NSDC said.

Both the government and the rebel forces claim they observe the ceasefire agreed last month, accusing each other of attempting to derail the truce.

The insurgents said the Ukrainian army staged 10 attacks against them within the previous day, while government military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the rebels fired 35 times at Ukrainian positions.

Despite the sporadic clashes, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the frontlines is under way, Lysenko said, adding that Ukrainian troops are now pulling back 152 millimeter caliber artillery as part of the second stage of the pullout.

According to him, Kiev forces are scheduled to start the final phase of the process on Friday, taking multiple rocket launchers "Hurricane" away from the contact line.

On Sunday, insurgents said that they had withdrawn all heavy weapons, except Grad rocket launchers, from the frontlines in Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

The complete pullout of heavy weapons out of striking distance by both warring sides is one of the key points of the peace agreement reached in Minsk, the Belarusian capital, on Feb. 12 with the aim of ending the conflict, which has killed over 6,000 people.

Under the deal, a comprehensive ceasefire is the main precondition for the withdrawal. Endi