MINSK, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- From the beginning of this year to Dec. 17, the number of civilian casualties in the conflict zone in Ukraine's Donbas decreased by 50 percent year on year, the OSCE's special representative in the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Ukraine Martin Sajdik told reporters on Wednesday.

According to Sajdik, there were 43 people dead and 182 injured from the beginning of 2018, while the number of injured fell by 52 percent and reached the lowest level since the beginning of the conflict.

With the declaration of school, harvest, New Year and other truces in Donbas, it was possible to achieve this apparent trend, he added.

Meanwhile, the diplomat said that "even one human sacrifice is too much" and "worrying trends remain".

According to non-governmental organizations, some 7,000 square kilometers of land in eastern Ukraine are mined and contaminated with other explosive devices. It has proved to be one of the most heavily mined areas in the world, Sajdik said.

The TCG is a group of representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to facilitate a diplomatic solution to the conflict in eastern Ukraine.