MOSCOW, 9 NOV. - The militia of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Ukrainian troops have confirmed the start of the withdrawal of military contingents on the front line, in Donbass, in the last 'contact zone' in the Bohdanivska sector -Petrivske. Interfax reports.
Donetsk and Kiev have launched green tracers in the sky, signaling the beginning of disengagement. Previously white rockets had been fired which signaled the parties' willingness to proceed. The DPR militiamen are leaving Petrivske and are heading towards previously determined positions. The forces must be withdrawn simultaneously at a distance of 1 km from the line of contact.
The disengagement of the conflicting forces has already taken place in two sections, outside the village of Stanytsia Luhanska and near the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region. The disengagement of forces is one of the key conditions to hold the Normandy format summit among the leaders of France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia.