'Military threat from east to remain' despite truce

Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko has said a "military threat from the east" will remain even if a ceasefire holds between government troops and pro-Russian rebels in the east.

Mr Poroshenko's warning is widely seen as an indirect reference to Russia.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of helping the rebels with weapons and soldiers - a claim denied by Moscow.

Ukraine's military said on Friday that three soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours despite the truce.

Another seven soldiers were wounded, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said at a news briefing.

That followed 48 hours during which the Ukrainian military said it had suffered no deaths, boosting hopes that the ceasefire might hold.

Both Ukraine and the rebels say they are now withdrawing their heavy weapons from the front line under the terms of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk, Belarus. 

The process is yet to be officially confirmed by international monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The ceasefire came into effect on 15 February but the rebels seized the key town of Debaltseve just days later.

Fighting began in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions - known as Donbas - last April, a month after Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula.

Almost 5,800 people have died since then, the UN has estimated, although it believes the real figure could be considerably higher.

Speaking at Ukraine's National Defence University in Kiev on Friday, Mr Poroshenko said: "Even under the most optimistic scenario in Donbas... the military threat from the east would unfortunately remain."

He said this would require Ukraine to constantly strengthen the country's defensive capabilities.

The president also said the rebels were still violating the Minsk agreement, warning that the Ukrainian military was "ready any time" to bring back heavy weapons to the front line if the deal failed.

On Thursday, Ukraine said it began the pullout of 100mm calibre artillery from the front line, after none of its soldiers were killed for two days.