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No casualties reported in E. Ukraine amid ceasefire

Xinhua, December 29, 2016 Adjust font size:

The fresh ceasefire between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine has resulted in the first day free from casualties in two weeks, reports from the conflicting parties showed Wednesday.

"We have good news -- none of our servicemen was either killed or injured in the past day," Andriy Lysenko, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry's spokesman, told reporters during a media briefing.

In the same time, he pointed that the ceasefire remains fragile, accusing insurgents of violating the truce 44 times.

A senior rebel commander Eduard Basurin confirmed that the security situation in the area remains tense, claiming that the Ukrainian forces are carrying out provocative attacks aimed at derailing the ceasefire.

There were no reports of any casualty among rebel soldiers or civilians living in the area.

The new round of truce has begun in eastern Ukraine on Saturday, as the conflicting parties agreed to cease the hostilities on the eve of the New Year and Christmas holidays.

The conflict between government troops and rebels in eastern Ukraine has been raging since April 2014, claiming some 10,000 lives. Endit