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On Friday, Ukraine reported the first deaths among its
servicemen in three days, underscoring the fragility of the
truce meant to have taken effect on Feb. 15, as government
troops and rebels pulled back heavy weapons from the frontline.
Overnight there was a "significant decrease in attacks in
general and a full ceasefire in certain parts of the conflict
zone," the military said on its Facebook page.
It said the truce had been most fully observed around the
rebel-controlled city of Luhansk and near government-held
Mariupol on the Sea of Azov.
Kiev feared the port city and industrial hub could become the
next rebel target after they humiliated government troops by
seizing the strategic town of Debaltseve after the truce was
meant to have come into force.
The Ukrainian military reported isolated attacks by rebels on
government positions, including strikes from GRAD missiles
around government-held Avdiivka, north of rebel-held Donetsk and
home to one of Europe's largest coke plants.
Fighting in Ukraine's industrialized east has devastated the
steel sector, which before the conflict erupted last April
accounted for 15 percent of the economy.
Both government troops and separatists said they continued
withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line, "point two" of
the peace agreement aimed at ending the conflict which has
killed more than 5,600.
(Reporting by Pavel Polityuk; Writing by Alessandra Prentice;
Editing by Janet Lawrence)
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