Rebels in eastern Ukraine accuse government forces of using heavy weaponry
Ukrainian forces and pro-Russian separatists have agreed to complete a withdrawal of heavy weaponry from their frontlines in eastern Ukraine, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said on Friday after a round of peace talks in Berlin.
Army spokesman Oleksandr Zavtonov said on November 7 that the military withdrew its 82 mm caliber mortars from the villages of Pisky and Opytne near the ruins of Donetsk airport, which was ravaged by fierce battles past year.
Kyiv’s withdrawal came after pro-Moscow rebels said they pulled out their light arms from the area on Thursday.
The plan also calls for the creation of a 30-kilometer to 40-kilometer (18-25-mile) buffer zone between the warring parties.
The guns have been mostly silent since early September, prompting both sides to extend a pullback of lighter weapons, but recent accusations of ceasefire violations from both sides have underscored the fragility of the peace process.
A truce signed between the rebels and Kyiv, which was announced on September 1, has largely held, although little progress has been achieved to bring about a political settlement to the military conflict that has claimed more than 8,000 lives and displaced millions since it began in April 2014. “(Ukrainian) weapons will be returned immediately to the place of their previous location”, he said.
Rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko in turn blamed Ukrainian forces for breaking a ceasefire which he said existed only on paper.
“We at the moment are beginning to see for the primary time a few pullback of Russian and separatist weapons”, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland informed a listening to within the D.R. House of Representatives.
Separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine have accused government forces of shelling residential areas under their control with heavy artillery.
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