"Sad news about the death of our neighbor, Oleksandr Chehurko, has arrived. Born on July 16, 1987, lived in the village of Shershentsi, Kodyma district. Senior sergeant Chehurko died on January 3, 2018, defending Ukraine," the administration said on January 4.

Read alsoFrom day-start, Russia-led forces shell Ukraine troops 5 times – ATO HQThe circumstances of the death are still unknown.

According to local media, Chehurko served as a reconnaissance officer in the 28th separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ukrainian-based news agency RBC Ukraine said.

As UNIAN reported, a Ukrainian soldier died in a booby-trap blast in Donbas on January 2.

The ATO Headquarters reported five attacks on Ukrainian troops on January 3. All of them were reported in the Donetsk sector in the morning. The enemy used 82mm mortars to attack Ukrainian troops near the town of Maryinka and Butivka coal mine. Grenade launchers of various types and light infantry weapons were used near the town of Avdiyivka and the village of Vodiane. Militants resorted to small arms near the village of Shyrokyne.

The Ukrainian military did not fire back.

No violations of the ceasefire were registered in the second part of the day.

Meanwhile, Russian-backed militants are reported to have been conducting active aerial reconnaissance. Unmanned aerial vehicles whose use is banned under the Minsk peace agreements on Donbas were spotted near the Svitlodarska Duha bulge and in the Azov Sea area.