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Ukraine govt., pro-Russia forces report partial weapons withdrawal

Saturday, 01 October 2016 4:42 PM [ Last Update: Saturday, 01 October 2016 6:45 PM ]

This file photo taken on February 26, 2015 near the city of Artemivsk in Donetsk region, shows government forces’ armored personnel carriers moving cannons in eastern Ukraine. (Photo by AFP)

The warring sides in eastern Ukraine have pulled back heavy weapons in one of the three agreed locations on the front line.

Ukrainian troops and pro-Russia forces announced on Saturday that they had pulled back at the village of Zolote northwest of the city of Lugansk.

The two warring sides had agreed last month to withdraw heavy weapons in two other locations as well.

However, both sides accused each other on Saturday of being unwilling to withdraw at sites northeast of Lugansk and south of the pro-Russia fighters’ stronghold of Donetsk.

The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), which is monitoring the conflict, said its military observers were unable to inspect the planned withdrawal sites because land mines had been planted in the areas.

The pro-autonomy Russian-speaking regions of Donetsk and Lugansk have been in war with the Ukrainian government since Kiev launched military operations in April 2014 to crush pro-Moscow protests there.

The conflict has left nearly 9,600 people dead, according to the UN.

Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of having a hand in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. The US and European Union have ratcheted up sanctions on Moscow over the allegation.

Russia denies the accusation, and has imposed reciprocal sanctions on the West.

Representatives from the government in Kiev and the pro-Russia forces signed a ceasefire agreement in the Belorussian capital city of Minsk in September 2014, in a bid to halt the clashes in Ukraine’s eastern regions.

The two sides agreed on 12 points, including pulling back heavy weapons, exchanging prisoners, setting up a buffer zone on the Russia-Ukraine border, and allowing access to international monitors.

The warring sides also inked another truce deal, dubbed Minsk II, in February 2015 under the supervision of Russia, Germany and France.

Despite the ceasefire agreements, tensions between the two sides remain high.

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