The Ukrainian army says five of its soldiers have been killed in new clashes with pro-Russia forces in the restive eastern part of Ukraine over the past 24 hours.

Ukraine’s military spokesman Andriy Lysenko said Saturday the soldiers lost their lives in the north and west of Donetsk.

He added that four more Ukrainian soldiers were injured in the clashes, which were the deadliest since a September ceasefire.

The truce took effect in Ukraine's east on September 1 to end fighting between the warring sides.

Ukraine and the pro-Russians accuse one another of violating the ceasefire on numerous occasions.

On September 1, the warring sides pledged anew to implement a ceasefire agreement that had been reached in the Belorussian capital city of Minsk in February.

The conflict in Ukraine broke out in March 2014 following a referendum in the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, in which people voted overwhelmingly for reunification with Russia.

The situation, however, degenerated into a major armed conflict after Kiev dispatched troops to Lugansk and Donetsk in April 2014 in an attempt to suppress pro-Russia forces there.

Some 8,000 people have been killed and almost 18,000 injured since April 2014, according to UN figures.