The European Union said it will uphold the sanctions it imposed on Russia until a permanent cease-fire deal has been implemented between Kiev and Pro-Russian separatists.

On Tuesday, EU spokesperson Maja Kojicancic released a statement saying some aspects of the discussion had "encouraging developments" about the peace talks.

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But she added that there were significant parts of the agreement that had to be fully implemented.

Earlier this month, the union imposed its most recent rounds of sanctions, during which, EU president Herman Van Rompuy said it could drop the sanctions based on the outcome of a review Sept. 30 in which EU envoys met in Brussels to discuss the eastern Ukraine crisis.

But during the review process, the EU found the ceasefire agreement between Ukraine and the pro-Russian insurgents have not yet been completely implemented.

Russia had rejected claims that it had been aiding the rebels in eastern Ukraine.

On Sept. 5, the conflicting parties signed a 12-point cease-fire deal in Minsk, while a separate agreement was signed on Sept.19 that strengthens the peace agreement. The new deal included plans of creating a "buffer zone" in the region.

However, the fighting still went on.

According to reports on eastern Ukraine, the area surrounding Donetsk International Airport has been under heavy artillery attack.

The separatist group reportedly attacked Ukrainian troops stationed at the airport on Sept. 30, but the pro-Russian rebels said they only started firing back after Kiev forces open fired at Donetsk, which is one of the rebel strongholds.

Meanwhile, on Sept. 30, in Luhansk, several people were killed in the town of Popasna after the rebels launched a Grad rocket in the area, according to regional governor Hennadiy Moskal.

The separatists denied the claims.

Additionally, Ukrainian officials said that the deadliest attack happened in Sept. 29 in which nine soldiers and four civilians were killed within one day.

To date, the Ukrainian conflict has already taken the lives of 3,000 people.

TagsWar Conflict, Eastern Europe, Slavic, Ukraine, Kievan Rus