© Aleksey Filippov/AFP/Getty Images
A bullet-ridden road sign stand outside Donetsk international airport.

    

The Ukrainian army and pro-Russia militias have begun withdrawing small weapons from the front line in the eastern Donetsk region. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe says the move is in line with the Minsk ceasefire agreement and is considered a significant step toward de-escalation in eastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian government troops will pull back mortars with a caliber less than 120 millimeters and cannons with a caliber less than 100 millimeters, Lysenko told reporters on Saturday in Kiev. Separatists would start weapon withdrawal on Oct. 21, Interfax-Ukraine news agency reported on Friday, citing rebel commander Eduard Basurin.

The Ukrainian government and the pro-Russian insurgents in the country’s easternmost regions agreed to pull back tanks and light weapons earlier this month. They were given 41 days to complete the withdrawal, which would move tanks and light artillery 30 kilometers (19 miles) from each other.