KIEV, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine has recorded a decrease in fire density in the country's embattled eastern regions, the body's spokesperson Andriy Lysenko told the press on Saturday.
"We are already seeing a decrease in fire density, there is only localized shelling," the official said.
Earlier on Saturday, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko announced the introduction of "silence regime" in the region starting Saturday. He added that the pullout of artillery and military hardware is to begin after the "silence regime" holds for five days.
Started in mid-April, armed conflict in southeastern Ukraine has claimed almost 3,700 lives, according to the United Nations. During the meeting of a Contact Group on Ukraine held on September 5 in Minsk, pro-Kiev forces and supporters of southeastern Ukraine's independence agreed on a ceasefire, which came into effect that same day. Both sides have since accused each other of violating the ceasefire, however, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe stated that the agreement was mostly respected.
Another meeting of the group held later in September resulted in a memorandum, specifying the implementation of the ceasefire. The document particularly includes a clause on the establishment of a 18-mile buffer zone between the Kiev forces and independence supporters.
