Kiev Withdraws Heavy Arms, Ready to Deliver Humanitarian Aid to Donbas

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Ukraine fulfilled every point of Minsk agreement as Kiev has withdrawn heavy artillery and is ready to send humanitarian assistance to crisis-hit Donbas.

KIEV, March 17 (Sputnik) – Kiev has withdrawn its heavy artillery from the line of contact in eastern Ukraine and is prepared to deliver humanitarian aid to the region, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said Tuesday.

“Today, we have come to agreement on fulfilling the Minsk agreements…Ukraine announces that it will fulfill each point…Ukraine has withdrawn heavy artillery in accordance with the procedure set out by the OSCE, and Ukraine is ready to provide a solution to the humanitarian issue to occupied territories of individual regions of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” Poroshenko said after talks with Romanian President Klaus Iohannis in Kiev.

Continual violence in Donbas pushed the leaders of Russia, Germany, France and Ukraine to negotiate a reconciliation deal on February 12 in Minsk. Alongside the February 15 ceasefire and heavy weapon withdrawal, the agreement includes an "all-for-all" prisoners exchange.

East Ukraine's regions of Donetsk and Luhansk completed the pullout of heavy artillery March 1. The withdrawal is one of the key points of the ceasefire deal, hammered out by the leaders of Russia, France, Germany and Ukraine in February and signed by Kiev forces and independence supporters.