MINSK: Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels agreed a ceasefire on Friday, the first step towards ending fighting in eastern Ukraine that has caused the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War ended.
The guns mostly fell silent when the truce began at six p.m. (1500 GMT) but occasional explosions and shelling could still be heard near the rebel stronghold of Donetsk later in the evening and many war-weary Ukrainians doubt it will hold.
The ceasefire was agreed in the Belarussian capital Minsk along with a deal allowing for prisoner exchanges, deliveries of humanitarian aid and the withdrawal of heavy weapons after five months of conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people.
"Human life is the highest value. We must do everything possible and impossible to end the bloodshed and put an end to people's suffering," Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said in a statement announcing the truce, agreed in Minsk with representatives of Russia and the OSCE security watchdog.
The Kremlin welcomed the agreement, based largely on proposals made by President Vladimir Putin and leaving the pro-Russian separatists in control of vast swaths of territory.
Putin's press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, urged the sides to build on the deal and seek a permanent political settlement, although many problems remain and an earlier ceasefire, in June, lasted only 10 days.
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