Kiev:New Cease-Fire in Ukraine Holding

MOSCOW (AP) -- Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko says a new cease-fire in eastern Ukraine is holding, after months of fighting.

Poroshenko said in a statement released at noon local time on Thursday that his forces have not seen any fighting in the past 12 hours. The parties in the conflict, which has claimed more than 9,500 lives, earlier agreed to stop fighting by Sept. 1, which is the first day of school in Ukraine.

The rebel mouthpiece Donetsk News Agency corroborated the reports.

Government forces and Russia-backed rebels agreed back in 2015 to stop fighting and pull back heavy weaponry. The cease-fire failed, however, and international monitors had said the fighting had intensified in the past month to nearly a full-blown war.

(KA)

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