The Ukrainian military and Russia-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine have announced a pullback from a frontline city as agreed upon in a demilitarization deal agreed to last month.
Ukrainian military spokesman Valentyn Shevchenko said on October 1 that both sides had moved their forces several kilometers away from the town of Zolote, recently the scene of fierce fighting.
Shevchenko added that some members of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) observer mission in Ukraine's Donbas region had "confirmed the retreat."
Mikhail Filimonenko, a separatist representative, said that "not a single soldier remains at the positions which they previously occupied, conforming to what is required by the Minsk peace accord."
Representatives of the Ukrainian government and the separatists had reached an agreement in Minsk in September to withdraw all heavy weapons and fighters from Zolote, Stanytsya Luhanska, and the Donetsk region town of Petrovske.
No withdrawal was reported in the other two towns.
The pullback should create a 2-kilometer perimeter around the three frontline towns.
It would be first progress registered in months toward the Minsk peace process.
Fighting in eastern Ukraine started shortly after Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in March 2014.
At least 9,600 people have been killed in the fighting.
Ukrainian Army, Separatists Withdraw From Flashpoint Town
![Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) speak with a Ukrainian serviceman as they visit the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region on September 26.](https://gdb.rferl.org/81412924-8a91-4163-a9ea-0fecfbb6f554_cx0_cy6_cw0_w250_r1_s.jpg)
Editors' Picks
Top Trending
1
U.S., Canadian Warplanes Intercept Russian, Chinese Military Aircraft Near Alaska
2Crowdsourcing Russia's Future: Poll Of Experts Considers What Comes After Putin
3Russia Attacks Ukrainian Danube Port For Second Day As NATO Scrambles Warplanes Over Romania
4Turkey Detains Russian Man Suspected Of Car Bombing In Moscow
5Ukrainian Forces Fight Intense Battles In Donetsk Region, Zelenskiy Says
6Live Briefing: Russia Invades Ukraine
7Pentagon Finds Another $2 Billion Of Accounting Errors For Ukraine Aid
8'Don't Even Whisper In Your Language': Russian Course For Central Asians Lays Down Strict Rules
9Under Relentless Russian Attacks, Ukrainian Power Plant Workers Race To Get The Lights Back On
10Bulgarian President Admits Blocking Pro-Western Envoy To Kyiv
RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.
If you are in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine and hold a Russian passport or are a stateless person residing permanently in Russia or the Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine, please note that you could face fines or imprisonment for sharing, liking, commenting on, or saving our content, or for contacting us.
To find out more, click here.