One mortar strike has been registered since a ceasefire was enacted in the area of the Ukrainian army's operation in the country's eastern regions on Tuesday morning, Dec. 9, Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Valentyn Buriachenko told Interfax.
“At 8 a.m., our forces were ordered not to open fire. They are allowed to do so only if they have permission issued by the operation’s chief of staff,” he said.
However, according to Buriachenko, there was a mortar strike in the Luhansk region at 9.15 a.m. An inquiry is under way.
“So far, no other instances of escalation have been observed,” Buriachenko said.
A “day of silence” is expected to be held in Donbas on Dec. 9. Both sides in the conflict earlier expressed their readiness to observe it.
Kyiv reported earlier that a ceasefire had been enacted at all positions controlled by the Ukrainian army in Ukraine’s eastern regions.
However, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), Alexander Zakharchenko, for his part, said that the truce deal was not being observed along the entire line of contact between the sides in the conflict in Donbas.
“Houses were shaken in Donetsk at 5.30 a.m. this morning, but the situation is now quiet there. However, shelling is taking place near Horlivka,” Zakharchenko told reporters without disclosing further details.
