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Ukraine reports first combat death since new truce

Kiev reported Friday its first combat death since Ukraine agreed 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 told 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.

Europe’s only active war plunged relations between Moscow and the West to a post-Cold War low and unsettled other Russian neighbours.

Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of funnelling troops and arms across the border to fan the flames of the conflict.

Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.