Kiev's military said on Friday five Ukrainian soldiers had been killed and seven wounded in attacks by pro-Russian separatists in the past 24 hours, a larger than normal death toll compared with recent weeks.
A September ceasefire has been repeatedly flouted by both sides, but shelling lessened significantly in December, fuelling hopes of de-escalation of the conflict which has killed over 4,700 people since April.
"For now there's only firing from firearms, they are not using tanks or artillery. We cannot say that the situation has escalated," military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in a televised briefing. REUTERS