Government Forces and Separatists Withdraw Soldiers to Eastern Ukraine. On the front line in eastern Ukraine, both government forces and separatist rebels have begun the withdrawal of their soldiers.
Demilitarisation is the last condition for a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin.
The withdrawal takes place in Petriwske, a village south of Donetsk. It is the third withdrawal of front line positions since June. Both the Ukrainian army and the pro-Russian separatists fired white and green signal missiles as a starting signal.
Demilitarisation is the final condition for a possible meeting between Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, which would also be attended by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron.
The summit should be the first step to end the war in Eastern Ukraine. The conflict has been going on for five years and has already claimed 13,000 deaths.
According to Ukrainian President Zelensky, who has made the end of the war in the east of the country a priority, nothing stands in the way of a summit now. But the water between Russia, which secretly supports the separatists, and Kiev is still profound. Possibly Russia always sets additional conditions for a summit to take place.
