Ukraine truce ‘jeopardised’

KIEV: Ukraine on Friday reported its first combat death since a new ceasefire with pro-Russian rebels went into effect on September 1 before the new school year.

The announcement delivered a worrying signal that one of the most enduring in a series of truces risked collapsing just as tensions between Moscow and Kiev are scaling new heights.

"In the past day, as a result of military activities, one of our soldiers died and two were wounded," Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters. Lysenko said rebels attacked Mariinka -- a flashpoint town that straddles the buffer zone between the warring sides’ forces.

Ukraine had previously reported the accidental death of two soldiers in incidents involving a tripwire and one of the many landmines that litter the former Soviet republic’s devastated eastern industrial war zone.