Ukraines military says one Ukrainian serviceman killed in past 24...

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Ukraine's military said on Monday one Ukrainian serviceman had been killed and four wounded in separatist eastern territories in the past 24 hours, underscoring the fragility of a two-week-old ceasefire deal.

Military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said pro-Russian rebels continued to receive a "significant" number of weapons and military equipment from Russia.

"The enemy is moving heavy weapons and military equipment, primarily in the area of Mariupol," he said in a televised briefing, referring to a strategic government-held port city Kiev fears could be the next rebel target.

Earlier, the U.N. human rights office said more than 6,000 people have died in eastern Ukraine since the start of the conflict almost a year ago.

The Geneva-based body said hundreds of civilians and military personnel were killed in recent weeks alone after an upswing in fighting particularly near Donetsk airport and in the Debaltseve area.

U.N. rights chief Zeid Raad al-Hussein said in a statement Monday that investigators from his office had found a "merciless devastation of civilian lives and infrastructure" in the embattled region, where separatists backed by Russia are fighting Ukrainian government forces.

While Russia denies its troops are fighting in Ukraine, the U.N. said "credible reports indicate a continuing flow of heavy weaponry and foreign fighters" from Russia to the separatists in the period since December.

Also on Monday, Ukraine's state energy firm Naftogaz once again charged Russian gas giant Gazprom with violating the terms of an EU-backed winter gas supply agreement, Ukrainian company said.

"In February, the agreement was violated by the Russian side. Gas for which we had paid in advance was not delivered in full last month. The deal is continuing to be violated this month," Naftogaz quoted its chief executive Andriy Kobolev as saying.

"This violation needs to be balanced by an increase in gas deliveries to Ukraine from the EU," he said.

AP/REUTERS

Ukraine's military says one Ukrainian serviceman killed in past 24 hours