KIEV, Nov. 4 - The Ukrainian government will stop withdrawing light weapons from the frontline of its war against separatists in the east if the pro-Russian rebels continue to violate a ceasefire, a senior security official said on Wednesday, Reuters reported.

Fighting between Ukrainian forces and separatists in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions has killed more than 8,000 people since it started in mid-April 2014.

A ceasefire has broadly held since September, but both sides accuse each other of an increase in violations.