--- description: A fragile truce between Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists has resulted in the first day free from casualties since the war began title: First Casualty-Free Day in Ukraine Conflict image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2c866014b244259/69876e63524fc04952deb5e3/australia-ukraine_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'Fragile' Ukraine Truce Leads to First Casualty-Free Day by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2014 7:00 AM CUT  Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko places a poppy in the World War I Honour Roll during a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Dec. 12, 2014 Ukraine's President Petro Poroshenko places a poppy in the World War I Honour Roll during a visit to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Dec. 12, 2014Jason Reed—AP by [Helen Regan](/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Dec 12, 2014 7:00 AM CUT A tentative truce between government forces and pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has [resulted](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6980795110e743dbb6b5f3ff615c945a/ukraine-truce-results-first-casualty-free-day "undefined") in the first 24 hours free from deaths and injuries since a civil conflict began in February, the Ukrainian President said Friday. The cease-fire began on Tuesday after President Petro Poroshenko called for a “day of silence,” the Associated Press reports. “This is only 24 hours — everything is so fragile,” he said. “But I pray that we should continue this process. And if we will be united, we will win, no doubt.” The Ukrainian President made the comments during a three-day visit to Australia. More then 4,300 people have been killed and hundreds of thousands displaced in the conflict. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/6980795110e743dbb6b5f3ff615c945a/ukraine-truce-results-first-casualty-free-day "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3631265/ukraine-casualty-truce-petro-poroshenko-russia/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3631265/ukraine-casualty-truce-petro-poroshenko-russia/"},"headline":"'Fragile' Ukraine Truce Leads to First Casualty-Free Day","datePublished":"2014-12-12T07:00:13.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:48:16.350Z","description":"The Ukrainian President called for a long-standing truce after a cease-fire signed in September failed","url":"https://time.com/3631265/ukraine-casualty-truce-petro-poroshenko-russia/","keywords":["Ukraine","russia","conflict","ceasefire","Petro Poroshenko","fighting"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2c866014b244259/69876e63524fc04952deb5e3/australia-ukraine_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta2c866014b244259/69876e63524fc04952deb5e3/australia-ukraine_wong.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Petro Poroshenko","caption":"Petro Poroshenko","creditText":"Jason Reed—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3631265/ukraine-casualty-truce-petro-poroshenko-russia/","name":"'Fragile' Ukraine Truce Leads to First Casualty-Free Day"}}]}] ```