Ceasefire in eastern Ukraine violated

Mortar fire struck an apartment block in the rebel-held east Ukraine city of Donetsk overnight, yet another violation of a cease-fire between government forces and pro-Russian insurgents. While both sides said Tuesday they saw progress on the ground in fulfilling an agreement to pull back heavy artillery weapons from the front-line, on Wednesday Kiev accused the rebels of violating a cease-fire imposed Sept. 5. ‘The situation remains difficult,’ Col. Andriy Lysenko, spokesman for Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, told journalists in Kiev on Wednesday. ‘Ukrainian detachments comply with the cease-fire regime but the terrorists continue provocations,’ he said, referring to the pro-Russian separatists. Lysenko also said that eight servicemen had been wounded in fighting overnight, although none were killed, according to AP.