Ukraine troops prepare withdrawal amid holding ceasefire
Last edited Mon Sep 22, 2014, 01:53 PM - Edit history (1)
Ukrainian government troops are preparing to pull back heavy artillery from a proposed 30-kilometer (20-mile) buffer zone as agreed under a deal struck last week with pro-Russian separatists in the east of the country, a military spokesman said on Monday.
Colonel Andriy Lysenko said a decrease in separatist artillery attacks, and the cessation of firing from Russian territory, had allowed the pull-back by the Ukrainian army.
He told journalists, however, that two Ukrainian soldiers had been killed in the past 24 hours despite a September 5 ceasefire deal, which has seen many violations ever since it began. The deaths bring to 39 the number of Ukrainian troops and civilians killed since the ceasefire took effect.
Rebels had also begun withdrawing their heavy artillery, he said, although it was "not as massive as we had expected."
http://www.dw.de/ukraine-troops-prepare-withdrawal-amid-holding-ceasefire/a-17939440
EU notes importance of Minsk memorandum on observing ceasefire to assess implementation of peace plan for Ukraine.
The European Council's decision to assess the implementation of the peace plan for eastern Ukraine by the end of September 2014 with a view to the the possible revision of sanctions against Russia remains in force, Maja Kocijancic, spokesperson for EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said.
http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/eu-notes-importance-of-minsk-memorandum-on-observing-ceasefire-to-assess-implementation-of-peace-plan-for-ukraine-365531.html
