Explosions heard on outskirts of Ukraine's Mariupol

Loud explosions were heard on Saturday evening on the eastern outskirts of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol, according to AFP, despite a fragile ceasefire being put in place.

Numerous explosions were heard and a thick smoke was visible on the horizon. A checkpoint held by Ukraine loyalists seemed to be on fire, according to AFP journalists close to the scene.

AFP saw three Ukrainian tanks initially heading towards the checkpoint but then turned round. Dozens of cars were seen heading away from where the explosions took place.

The Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin agreed on Saturday in a phone call that the truce "was generally being observed".