Hostilities in E. Ukraine at lowest level: official

Hostilities in eastern Ukraine have fallen in recent days to the lowest level since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2014, Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak said Tuesday.

"We record from two to four shootings per day, which is the lowest number of attacks over the past year and a half," Poltorak told reporters before a government meeting.

In the past two weeks, pro-independence insurgents rarely used heavy weapons in their attacks against government forces, Poltorak said.

On the deaths of two Ukrainian servicemen in Lugansk region on Monday, the minister said they were killed not during an attack, but in a clash with a sabotage-reconnaissance group, which was on an intelligence operation in the government-controlled area.

The rebel leadership has confirmed that the fighting has subsided along the entire front line, saying that over the past day the restive areas had enjoyed full cease-fire.

Violence in eastern Ukraine has reduced significantly after a fresh cease-fire deal was reached between the government and insurgents, under which the conflicting sides agreed to strive for full truce starting from Sept. 1.

Earlier in the day, the United Nations said in a report that almost 8,000 people have been killed and more than 17,800 others wounded in the 17 months of violence in eastern Ukraine. Endi