New Ukraine ceasefire due to come into force

A ceasefire is due to come into effect in eastern Ukraine following a deal in Munich over the weekend to halt fighting and withdraw heavy weapons from the front line.

Fighting has recently escalated between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the region, refocusing global attention on a simmering conflict that has strained relations between Russia and the West.

"On 20 February the ceasefire regime will start and withdrawal of heavy military hardware will also start ... We have actively supported this decision and obviously expressed a conviction that this time, failure should not be allowed to take place," Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said after talks with his Ukrainian, German and French counterparts in Munich on Saturday.

Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin confirmed the deal, warning that the ceasefire must turn into more than a "political slogan" in practical terms.

"This has to be the real situation, and if that's not the case, we will have to have fresh negotiations," he told Ukrainian reporters in Munich.

The announcement comes after nearly 30 people lost their lives as violence flared again earlier this month in a conflict that has left more than 10,000 people dead since April 2014.

The Minsk peace agreement, brokered by France and Germany and signed by Russia and Ukraine in February 2015, calls for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line and constitutional reform to give eastern Ukraine more autonomy.

But since the deal the sides appear stuck in a stalemate broken periodically by sharp resurgences of fighting that Kiev and the Kremlin accuse each other of instigating.