Ukraine and pro-Russian separatists have begun withdrawing their troops from a key sector of the front line in the east of the country, a possible prelude to a much-awaited peace summit, the Ukrainian military said on Saturday . "The withdrawal of troops and armament began" between the villages of Petrivské and Bogdanivka, told reporters present on site a senior officer of the Ukrainian army, Bogdan Bondar.
The official separatist news agency DAN reported on its website that "the authorities of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) welcome the start of the withdrawal of arms and soldiers" from this sector. Very codified, the beginning of this withdrawal of troops began shortly after 12:00 (10:00 GMT), with the sending by the separatists and Ukrainians of flares, a white on each side meaning that both sides were ready, then a green meaning they were starting to withdraw. As observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), who oversee the operation, soldiers from both sides began to retreat in order. They must move back one kilometer on either side of the front line.
Summit between Ukraine and Russia, with Franco-German mediation
The disengagement, which could be spread over several days, was initially scheduled for Monday and then Friday but had been postponed due to firing exchanged in the area. Two more retreats of the front-line troops took place in June and late October. Saturday's withdrawal is "the last precondition for the organization of the quadripartite summit" between the Ukrainian and Russian leaders with the mediation of their French and German colleagues, this week assured the head of the Ukrainian diplomacy, Vadym Prystaiko.
If Moscow is less categorical, Vadym Prystaiko hopes that this meeting between Vladimir Putin, Volodymyr Zelensky, Emmanuel Macron and Angela Merkel could take place in November in Paris. This would be the first meeting at this level to try to find a way out of the conflict in eastern Ukraine since 2016.
The holding of such a summit has been repeatedly mentioned in recent weeks without ever materializing, especially since Moscow conditioned a resumption of talks to a retreat of troops in three small areas of the front line. Launched under the leadership of the new Ukrainian president, in office since May, this disengagement is causing much concern in Ukraine, especially among veterans. But Volodymyr Zelensky keeps calling for a summit, hoping for a breakthrough to reach a settlement of the conflict with the pro-Russian separatists. This war has killed about 13,000 people since its outbreak five years ago, a month after Moscow's annexation of the Crimean peninsula.