KIEV, December 16. /TASS/. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said on Tuesday the silence regime in Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk regions in eastern Ukraine) is real and not declarative.

“Last night for the first time no shootings and no violation of the ceasefire were reported,” Poroshenko said.

Earlier, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic said both parties to the conflict in eastern Ukraine refrained from using heavy weaponry.

Only some clashes with the use of firearms were reported near the Donetsk airport, the scene of fierce fighting between Ukrainian government forces and militias for months.

The Donetsk authorities use the lull to restore the infrastructure and fuel and energy complex facilities.

Calm has returned to the streets of Donetsk and no clashes were reported overnight, the press service of the city mayor’s office said.

“The process of restoring social facilities is continuing. These are mainly health care, educational and also fuel and energy complex facilities,” the statement says.

Infrastructure is being restored in other areas of the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic. “Many villages here have been cut off power as a result of artillery shelling by Ukraine’s armed forces,” it reads.