国际英语新闻:Government forces extend ceasefire in eastern Ukraine

KIEV, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian forces have extended a one-day ceasefire with independence-seeking insurgents in eastern regions for another day, a military spokesman said Wednesday.

"Since the truce regime has been generally observed and we witnessed a decrease of provocative attacks, we continue to maintain the 'regime of silence'," Andrei Lysenko, a spokesman for the National Security and Defense Council, told reporters.

The ceasefire had been extended because it brought positive results, Lysenko said. Over the past 24 hours, Ukrainian forces suffered no casualties for the first time in few months.

"The 'day of silence' has shown that the two sides are ready to make concessions," he said.

At the same time, the press center of the Ukrainian military operation issued a statement, accusing the rebels of violating the truce regime 11 times with seven civilians injured during the attacks.

The confronting sides in eastern Ukraine announced their consent to the ceasefire 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.

The "day of silence" was enforced in eastern Ukraine after weeks of heavy fighting, in an attempt to prevent further bloodshed and end the eight-month-old armed conflict, which has killed more than 4,300 people.