Pensioner Anatoliy gestures at a row of burnt out cars as he worries about what might be in store for his east Ukraine hometown -- the frontline port city of Mariupol.

"People are afraid and don't want this to be repeated," he tells AFP.

Ukraine's army awaited orders to pull back weapons from the frontline Thursday as a shaky truce settled, while the United States and Russia traded blame for delays in the peace plan.  

Kiev said that its positions around the conflict zone came under fire from pro-Russian rebels a relatively low seven times in 24 hours, and neither side reported any fatalities for the second day running. 

A U.N.-backed ceasefire showed signs of taking hold in Ukraine on Wednesday, but tensions remained high after the U.S. accused Russia of "lies" and Britain ordered a small troop deployment to train Kiev's forces.

Russia in turn has warned it could within days cut off gas supplies to Ukraine -- and, by extension, to parts of the European Union.

Up to 2,000 Russian soldiers took part in drills in the country's west on Wednesday as Moscow conducted an inspection of its paratrooper units in the latest show of strength likely to alarm its neighbors.

Some 500 units of equipment were also to be included in drills in the western Pskov region which borders EU members Estonia and Latvia, defense ministry spokeswoman Irina Kruglova told AFP.

Russia will continue using the International Space Station along with NASA until 2024, its space agency said, after Moscow had threatened to stop financing it in 2020.

Roscosmos has finalized a plan for its activities up to 2030 which "provides for the use of the ISS until 2024," the space agency said in a statement late Tuesday.

The United States expressed fury at Russia's "lies" over Ukraine after European powers urged a frayed ceasefire be respected, while a rare overnight calm was reported in the war zone on Wednesday.

But the crisis still simmered dangerously. Britain said it was dispatching a team of soldiers to Ukraine for "training" and warned Russia could be cut off from the SWIFT international banking network, while Russia's Gazprom is threatening to stop gas supplies to Ukraine.

France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine called Tuesday for a total ceasefire in eastern Ukraine as London announced it was sending troops to train government forces fighting pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would send up to 75 military personnel to advise and train Kiev forces, but ruled out sending lethal equipment as "there needs to be a diplomatic solution" to the conflict.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross spoke out Tuesday against "politicizing" the issue of humanitarian assistance for war-torn eastern Ukraine.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss the Ukraine crisis, Peter Mauer also called on Moscow and Kiev to create what he called a common "humanitarian space."

Russia's state-owned gas giant Gazprom warned Tuesday it could cut off gas deliveries to Ukraine within two days, upping the stakes in the crisis there -- and threatening supplies to the rest of Europe.

The Gazprom announcement came hours ahead of a Paris meeting of the foreign ministers of Russia, Ukraine, Germany and France.

Russia voiced confidence on Tuesday that world powers and Iran would be able to reach a comprehensive accord over Tehran's disputed nuclear program by a June 30 final deadline.

Moscow's chief nuclear negotiator said after the latest round of talks between U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad in Geneva that tangible progress was being made.