Ukraine, pro-Russian rebels start withdrawing weapons

PanARMENIAN.Net - Ukraine's government forces and pro-Russian rebels say they have begun withdrawing weapons from the line of contact in the east of the country, BBC News reports.

Ukrainian officials said inventory work began on Saturday morning with the actual pullback to start in the afternoon. The rebels in the Luhansk region said they were withdrawing tanks.

Both sides have committed to pulling out materiel carrying weapons with less than 100mm caliber.

The rebels in the Donetsk region were quoted as saying that they would start pulling out their weapons on 18 October.

The withdrawal process is yet to be verified by international monitors from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).

The pullout date was announced at a meeting of leaders from Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany on Friday.

Moscow denies sending troops and heavy weapons to the pro-Russian separatists.

However, the Kremlin admits that Russian "volunteers" are fighting alongside the rebels in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.