Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels reached a ceasefire agreement on Friday, the first step toward ending fighting in eastern Ukraine that has caused the worst standoff between Moscow and the West since the Cold War ended.
The ceasefire deal was struck 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 a conflict that has killed more than 2,600 people.
Despite some initial shelling in the rebel stronghold of Donetsk after the truce began at 6pm (1100 ET), the ceasefire appeared to be holding. But many residents and combatants were skeptical that the ceasefire could last long or provide the basis for a durable peace settlement. The two sides remain far apart on the future of the region.
Despite the deal, European Union ambassadors agreed to stronger sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the war in Ukraine, with the measures set to be implemented on Monday, diplomats said in Brussels.
The diplomats said the EU sanctions - the latest economic measures aimed at Moscow over Ukraine - could be suspended if the truce holds and Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine.
"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, reached 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 June ceasefire lasted only 10 days.