DPR Begins Withdrawal of Weaponry With Less Than 100mm Caliber

According to RIA Novosti correspondent reports, the eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has begun withdrawing weaponry carrying less than 100mm in accordance with the Minsk agreements.

DONETSK (Sputnik) – The eastern Ukrainian self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic has begun withdrawing weaponry carrying less than 100mm in accordance with the Minsk agreements, a RIA Novosti correspondent reported from the scene on Wednesday.

The correspondent said that the DPR militia is currently withdrawing tanks from the southern regions of the republic. He added that representatives from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is observing the withdrawal.

The Ukrainian government and an opposition militia in the southeast agreed to withdraw heavy artillery with a caliber of over 100mm from the line of control in February 2015, moving in September to extend this withdrawal to weapons with a caliber under 100mm.

The agreement was prepared in August by a security subgroup of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukrainian reconciliation, including representatives from Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.

Earlier this month, Kiev-led forces began withdrawing mortars and tanks in Ukraine's eastern Luhansk region. The Ukrainian general staff said that the military would also withdraw mortars in Donetsk if current deescalations continue.