Two civilians were killed today in eastern Ukraine, undermining fresh efforts to end continuing violence as the European Union extended sanctions against individuals deemed responsible for the conflict.

A Western-brokered ceasefire agreed in February has been punctuated by frequent deadly incidents.

In a fresh bid to restore peace, Ukrainian government and separatist representatives last week agreed to seek to end ceasefire violations from Tuesday as children began school term.

But after several days of a relative lull in the war-ravaged industrial east, a group of civilians and law enforcement officials were caught in an ambush in the rebel-controlled Lugansk region during an anti-smuggling operation.

Two civilians were killed and four soldiers wounded, said military spokesman Andriy Lysenko.