A ceasefire that went into effect in eastern Ukraine has largely held, except around the strategic railway hub of Debaltseve.

Heavy fog shrouding sodden fields muffled the sound of artillery but regular shelling could still be heard from Luhanske, a town about nine miles to the north west.

The ceasefire has kindled slender hopes of reprieve from the conflict between the government troops and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed more than 5,300 lives since it began in April.

International attention will be focused in the coming days on Debaltseve, where Ukrainian forces have for weeks been fending off severe onslaughts from the rebels. The town is a railway link between the main separatist-held cities of Donetsk and Luhansk.

A spokesman for the Ukrainian army general staffsaid the ceasefire had largely been upheld after it went into effect at midnight.

Shelling was noted 10 times, he said, with all but one incident occurring in the Debaltseve area. The rebels also accused the Ukrainians of deploying artillery in the area shortly after midnight.

Donetsk, the separatist stronghold, was quiet with no shelling from government forces.

In the Luhansk region, two civilians were killed shortly after midnight in the town of Popasne as a result of shelling, regional authorities said.

Speaking to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov yesterday, US secretary of state John Kerry expressed concern about what he called efforts by Russia and the separatists to cut off Debaltseve in advance of the ceasefire.

But Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko, as he issued the ceasefire order in a live television broadcast, said the road to the town remained open and that Ukrainian troops there had been resupplied with ammunition.

Russia has repeatedly denied Western claims it has sent troops and equipment to aid the rebels.