“If the militia observes the ceasefire for two days, it will be the only signal needed to start this withdrawal,” Andriy Lysenko said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the deputy commander of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR) militia Vitaly Kiselyov said that the Kiev armed forces have started a partial withdrawal of heavy artillery from the contact line in Donbas. He stressed that the ceasefire in the area was being strictly observed.
The deputy commander of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) militia Eduard Basurin also said Tuesday that the DPR was pulling its heavy weaponry back from the front line. However, Basurin found it difficult to say whether Kiev forces were doing the same.
The withdrawal of heavy artillery from the line of contact between Kiev forces and Donbas independence supporters is one of the measures stipulated by the new Minsk agreements on Ukrainian reconciliation, reached on February 12.
According to the deal, the sides were supposed to begin withdrawal no later than the second day after the ceasefire in the region came in force and complete it within 14 days. However, after the truce came into force on February 15 both Kiev and the eastern Ukraine militias have repeatedly accused each other of violating it.
