The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has said it is willing to comply with a new ceasefire agreement in eastern Ukraine reached in Minsk.

"The Ukrainian armed forces and the antiterrorist operation forces in general have repeatedly shown their willingness to comply with the Minsk Agreements. All heavy weapons have been withdrawn, and a ceasefire agreement has been observed. The Ukrainian armed forces stand ready further to comply with the president's peace plan," Ukrainian Defense Ministry spokesman Oleksandr Motuzianyk said at a news briefing in Kyiv on Thursday.

"In the event of provocative shelling by the illegal armed units threatening Ukrainian armed forces service members, we reserve the right to return fire. However, I stress once again that the Ukrainian armed forces stand ready to implement the new decisions by the Contact Group in Minsk," Motuzianyk said.

It had been reported earlier that the Trilateral Contact Group for settling the crisis in eastern Ukraine had adopted a statement at a meeting in Minsk on Wednesday on declaring a comprehensive, durable, and open-ended ceasefire in the run-up to the New Year's holidays starting from 0:00 a.m. December 24.