Ukraine says it is beginning heavy weapons withdrawal
Ukraine will begin withdrawing heavy weapons from the front line in the country’s east on Thursday, the Defence Ministry in Kyiv said.
“In compliance with the agreements reached in Minsk on February 12, Ukraine today will begin withdrawing 100-millimetre cannons,” the ministry said, adding that the withdrawal will be carried out only in the presence of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Earlier, the Ukrainian Security Council said that the situation in the conflict zone had stabilized.
Security Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said in Kyiv that Ukrainian forces suffered no deaths and four injuries during the past 24 hours. It was the second day in a row with no fatalities.
The Russia-backed separatists have said that they have unilaterally begun withdrawing their heavy weapons. Militia spokesman Eduard Basurin said that OSCE observers had arrived in the Olenivka district south of Donetsk to monitor the withdrawal, according to the rebel-run Donetsk News Agency.
The OSCE, which is supposed to monitor the ceasefire, reiterated on Thursday that it has not been able to verify the withdrawals.
OSCE spokesman Michael Bociurkiw said that both sides have yet to share information on the amount of weapons they possess and their locations.
He added that the observers were still unable to access some hot spots for security reasons and that there were delays at checkpoints manned by both sides.
“Unrestricted and safe access is not guaranteed yet,” he said.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that it welcomed Ukraine’s announcement but criticized the OSCE’s demands as unjustified because they do not appear in the Minsk agreement.
“The OSCE monitors are supposed to confirm that there are no heavy weapons in the given zones and should not make hasty announcements,” the ministry said.
The separatists also said that they uncovered some 30 bodies of Ukrainian soldiers under the rubble of Donetsk airport. Government forces gave up the airport to the separatists in January.