At least three government soldiers were killed in eastern Ukraine over the past 24 hours despite a declared cease-fire, a military spokesman said Thursday.

Besides the deaths, eight other Ukrainian servicemen were injured, according to Andrei Lysenko, spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council.

Although independence-seeking insurgents have carried out several attacks against government forces, the intensity of their offensive has reduced after the cease-fire was enforced, Lysenko said.

He added that Ukraine will continue upholding the truce with rebels in an attempt to prevent widespread bloodshed.

The confronting sides in eastern Ukraine announced their consent to the cease-fire Tuesday morning to start the so-called "day of silence," prescribed in the peace agreement signed on Sept. 5 in the Belarusian capital of Minsk.

Over the past day, there were no reports of civilian or rebel casualties.

Violence has persisted in Ukraine's Lugansk and Donetsk regions in recent months. A fresh deal to establish a long-term truce in the war-torn regions is to be discussed in a new round of peace talks between the Ukrainian government and the insurgent leadership in Minsk this week. Endi

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