Ukrainian Separatists: We Will Withdraw Heavy Weapons from the Front Line

One of the leaders of the separatists in eastern Ukraine has announced that his forces will withdraw their heavy weaponry from the front line of clashes with the country's army starting Sunday, March 3. The withdrawal of heavy weapons from the war-torn eastern Ukraine is one of the clauses of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, which has yet to be implemented days after its signing. A day earlier, Russian-backed separatists and the Ukrainian army exchanged dozens of prisoners. According to Interfax, Edward Basurin, the commander of the eastern Ukrainian separatists, reported that starting Sunday, there will be two weeks to clear heavy military equipment from the area. However, Andriy Lysenko, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, told Reuters that he cannot yet confirm the withdrawal of the rebels' heavy weapons from the area. Despite this, Reuters reported that an eyewitness saw about 20 separatist trucks leaving the city of Debaltseve and heading towards Donetsk. These trucks were carrying air defense systems and artillery. Armed rebels captured Debaltseve last week. The capture of this city, which occurred after the signing of the Minsk ceasefire agreement, drew significant criticism against the separatists and Russia, which is accused of supporting them. The Ukrainian army has accused the rebels of launching 12 mortar attacks against government forces on Saturday night. Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, had previously called for the deployment of international peacekeeping forces to monitor the ceasefire, but the separatists and Russia rejected this request. In this context, the Security Council has called for adherence to the provisions of the ceasefire agreement in Ukraine. Debaltseve fell to the Ukrainian rebels after the withdrawal of government forces.