Ukraine has started withdrawing tanks and light artillery from the frontline in the eastern region of Luhansk in line with an agreement with Russian-backed separatists, Kiev’s military said on Monday.
Ukraine and separatist leaders agreed last week to extend a pull-back of weapons in eastern Ukraine, which rebels said could mean an “end to the war” with the Ukrainian government.
“Today at 11.00 (4:00 a.m. EDT) in Luhansk region we began a simultaneous removal of T-64 and T-72 tanks and in some places anti-tank artillery D-48 and D-44 and … mortars,” military spokesman Ruslan Tkachuk said on Facebook.
Ukraine has 360 tanks in the conflict zone and 1,400 armored personnel carriers, according to military data published at the end of August.