OSCE reports drop in eastern Ukraine violence amid ceasefire

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Friday that a ceasefire established in eastern Ukraine on Thursday has led to a decrease in the level of fighting in the region.

"Now, we have already noted a drop in violence, but it is still too early to say if the sides are truly committed to adherence," Alexander Hug, the deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters.

He voiced hopes that the conflicting parties will manage to observe the truce, which was established to allow children quietly go to school, as the similar ceasefire deal in 2015 has resulted in a considerable decrease of the hostilities.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko has confirmed that the ceasefire in eastern regions is generally holding, despite sporadic violations, saying that there were no combat casualties among government soldiers in the past day.

Meanwhile, the press service for the government's military operation said that Ukrainian troops came under 11 attacks in the past 24 hours, in which pro-independence insurgents used small arms and grenade launchers, without deploying heavy weapons.

There were no reports of attacks on the rebel positions or casualties among insurgent soldiers in the past day.

The conflicting parties in eastern Ukraine have renewed their commitments to a comprehensive ceasefire starting Thursday, when the new school year began.

The similar ceasefire deal, which came into the force on Sept. 1, 2015, has led to a notable decrease in the fighting that has killed more than 9,500 people since April 2014. Endit