DONETSK: Artillery fire rocked the outskirts of the rebel-held east Ukraine city of Donetsk on Sunday in the latest clashes to rattle an internationally-brokered ceasefire between pro-Russian separatists and Kiev.

The sound of intensive explosions erupted at 9am and appeared to come from the area around Donetsk airport, one of several flashpoints where shelling has rumbled on despite the February truce deal that has eased nghting around much of eastern Ukraine.

The Ukranian army said rebels located near the airport had used small arms, 82mm mortar shells and rocket-propelled grenades against government troops overnight.

It said there had been three injuries in its ranks but no deaths.

In the separatist stronghold of Lugansk, the army also came under fire from small arms and heavier 120mm mortar shells, according to an official statement.

The overall rate of fighting has declined sharply sincethe peace deal, which obliges both sides to stop shooting and withdraw heavy weapons, was hammered out by the leaders of France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine.

However, sporadic clashes with small arms and shells have continued on a near daily basis at hotspots including the airport and around the key government-held port city of Mariupol. According to the army, militants fired 120mm mortar shells overnight at the village of Shyrokyne, around 20 kilometres east of Mariupol.

There were also nine sightings of rebel drones over the last 24 hours, Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko told reporters on Sunday.

He also accused separatists of twice using artillery prohibited by the peace deal near the village of Avdiivka, north of Donetsk. Under the terms of the ceasefire, the two sides agreed to pull back their heavy arms to create a buffer zone of between 50 kilometres and 140 kilometres, depending on the range of the weaponry.-AFP