Kiev: A total of 64 soldiers have been killed in eastern Ukraine since a ceasefire deal between Kiev and pro-Russian rebels took effect almost a month ago, President Petro Poroshenko said Monday.
While the shaky truce has been largely holding, sporadic clashes have continued with both sides accusing the other of violating the European-brokered, Russian-backed peace deal signed in the Belarussian capital.
"Sixty-four servicemen have died since February 15," Poroshenko said in an interview on Ukrainian state television.
He said that a total of 1,549 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed since the start of a bloody pro-Russian insurgency in the east of the country almost 11 months ago.
Poroshenko announced that he would meet Tuesday with what he called his "war cabinet" to discuss "important decisions", but he did not give further details.
According to the United Nations, more than 6,000 people have died in the fighting.