Fighting in E.Ukraine at lowest level since May: OSCE

Fighting in eastern Ukraine has fallen to its lowest level since May, as conflicting parties largely observed the ceasefire established earlier this month, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said on Thursday.

"For the first time since early May, a relative calm prevails in most parts of Donetsk and Lugansk regions," Alexander Hug, deputy chief of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine, told reporters during a briefing.

The number of ceasefire violations in each of the restive regions has fallen by 90 percent since the parties made their recommitment to the truce, Hug said, adding that the most serious breakdown of the ceasefire came on Monday night in Lugansk region when the sides fired mortars, automatic grenade launchers, small arms and heavy machine guns for almost four hours.

In the same time, Hug stressed that despite the reduction in violence, the truce still remains fragile as risks of escalation persist.

"None of the risk factors have been removed: weapons are still present in violation of the withdrawal lines, large areas remain mined and polluted with unexploded remnants of war, and the sides are positioned too close to one another," he said.

The Ukrainian army and independence-seeking insurgents have renewed their commitments to a comprehensive ceasefire starting Sept. 1, when the new school year began.

The similar ceasefire deal, which came into force on Sept. 1, 2015, has led to a notable decrease in the fighting, but in May this year the conflict flared up again as the parties failed to find common ground over local elections in Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

More than 9,500 people have been killed and some 22,000 injured since the conflict in eastern Ukraine started in April 2014. Endi