This just in from RFE/RL's News Desk, citing Reuters and AFP:
Military officials say Ukrainian forces have pulled back from the airport in the eastern city of Luhansk following clashes with pro-Russian separatists.
Army spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the soldiers made an "organized retreat" from the airport on September 1.
The announcement comes as Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov expressed hope participants at a meeting in Minsk on September 1 would agree terms of an immediate, unconditional cease-fire.
Ukrainian and Russian officials as well as separatist rebels and OSCE representatives were expected to attend.
The rebels have been fighting Ukrainian government forces since April in a conflict the United Nations says has killed more than 2,600 people.
The provincial capitals of Luhansk and Donetsk are in rebel hands.
Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of sending troops into Ukraine and supporting the separatists, allegations denied by Moscow.
