Ukraine reports first combat death since new truce

AFP — Kiev reports its first combat death since Ukraine agreed to a new truce with Russian-backed rebels in the war-torn east of the country at the end of last month.

“As a result of enemy fire, one of our soldiers was killed (over the past 24 hours),” military spokesman Dmytro Gutsuliak tells journalists.

Another soldier was seriously injured in renewed fighting as the Ukrainian military accused separatist forces of using heavy weaponry, including large-calibre mortars.

Brokered by international monitors, the truce went into effect on March 30 after a string of similar accords have helped lower the level of violence but not fully ended the war.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since the start of a Moscow-backed insurgency in April 2014 which followed Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.