KIEV/DONETSK, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) said on Saturday that 65 Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the eastern parts of the country since the establishment of a ceasefire on September 5.
"Since the introduction of the ceasefire, the Ukrainian military's positions were fired at more than 1,300 times, resulting in the deaths of 65 Ukrainian soldiers," the NSDC said in a statement.
According to the council, sites that have been fired at most frequently were the Donetsk airport, the cities of Debaltseve and Shchastya, and areas surrounding Mariupol.
Southeastern Ukraine's militia has repeatedly stated that it only opens fire when it is forced to respond to artillery strikes from the Ukrainian troops.
"We only fire in response," a spokesperson of the militia's headquarters told RIA Novosti on Saturday.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko announced that a "silence regime" in the region would go into effect immediately. He added that the pullout of artillery and military hardware is to begin after the "silence regime" holds for five days.
An armed conflict in Ukraine's southeast began in April when Kiev launched a military operation against independence supporters in the region. Almost 3,700 people have been killed and over 8,800 have been wounded since the start of the operation, according to a UN report published on Friday.
On September 5, the two conflicting sides agreed on a ceasefire during a meeting in Minsk of the trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine. Both sides have subsequently accused each other of violating the agreement.
