Ukrainian soldiers: Ceasefire breached by sniper, mortar fir

Despite earlier agreement by activists in the east to observe a ceasefire proposed by the Ukrainian president, fighting continued in the Donetsk region.

A Ukrainian military spokesman says a Ukrainian army helicopter was shot down by activists near the city of Sloviansk. All nine service members on board were killed. At an army checkpoint outside Sloviansk, Ukrainian soldiers said their position had come under repeated sniper and mortar attacks since Monday.

Meanwhile, at a checkpoint controlled by the activists outside the city of Kramatorsk, rebel gunmen blamed the Ukrainian forces for the ceasefire violations. president Petro Poroshenko declared the cease-fire on Friday as part of a peace plan to end two-months of fighting between the government troops and the activists in eastern Ukraine.