KIEV, Aug. 28 (Xinhua) -- Clashes in eastern Ukraine continue despite the new cease-fire declared on Aug. 25, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said Monday.
"The OSCE special monitoring mission has registered over 600 cease-fire violations. It is still quite a high number. Any shot fired, regardless of the purpose, is a violation," said Alexander Hug, the deputy chief monitor of the OSCE special monitoring mission to Ukraine.
The fights have mostly taken place around traditional hotspots, Hug said, noting that 80 percent of the truce violations occurred in epicenters of recent violence.
Both sides engaged heavy weapons like tanks, artillery and mortars, Hug said.
Meanwhile, he also said that since the beginning of August, the frequency of fights in the region has fallen.
The conflict between government troops and pro-independence insurgents in eastern Ukraine has been raging since April 2014, claiming about 10,000 lives.
On the midnight of Aug. 25, the confronting sides declared a cease-fire to ensure children's security ahead of the new school year, which will begin on Sept. 1.
