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Ukrainian Soldier Killed in Mine Blast in Rebel East

A Ukrainian soldier was killed and another was wounded in a landmine blast in the rebel-held east, where a ceasefire has been holding for almost a month, a defense official said Sunday.

"Yesterday near Gorlivka, one Ukrainian soldier was killed and one injured. It was a result of a mine explosion," military spokesman Oleksandr Motuzyanyk told journalists, referring to a city about 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the rebels' de facto capital Donetsk.

But he said the truce was "still holding," adding: "The enemy is not using any heavy weapons, tanks, mortars nor artillery against the Ukrainian army for almost a month." 

In a report published late Saturday, the monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said the situation in the Donetsk region was relatively calm. 

The same was true for the rebel-controlled Luhansk area despite "some ceasefire violations".

The United Nations estimates the conflict in eastern Ukraine has killed some 8,000 people from April 2014 and left almost 18,000 wounded.

Source: Agence France Presse


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