Ukraine 'starts heavy weapons withdrawal'

Ukraine's army is starting the withdrawal of heavy weapons from the front line in the east as part of a truce, the defence ministry says.

It says the pullout of 100mm calibre artillery "is the first step" and will be monitored by OSCE observers.

Pro-Russian rebels earlier said they had started withdrawing their weapons. This has not been verified by monitors.

The ceasefire came into effect on 15 February, but the rebels seized the key town of Debaltseve just days later.

Fighting began in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions last April, a month after Russia annexed the Crimea peninsula.

Almost 5,800 people have died since then, the UN has estimated, although it believes the real figure could be considerably higher.

The Ukrainian government, Western leaders and Nato say there is clear evidence that Russia is helping the rebels with heavy weapons and soldiers.

Independent experts echo that accusation while Moscow denies it, insisting that any Russians serving with the rebels are "volunteers".

Kiev's warning

In a statement, the Ukrainian defence ministry said Thursday's weapons pullout was part of the ceasefire agreed in Minsk, Belarus, on 12 February.

It warned that if there were any "attempts to attack", the pullout timetable would be "corrected".

The decision to begin moving artillery from the front line came shortly after Ukraine's military said its forces had suffered no casualties in the past 48 hours, although several soldiers had been wounded.

Under terms agreed in Minsk, both Ukraine's government forces and the rebels must pullout their heavy weapons, creating a buffer zone of at least 50km (30 miles).

The process will be monitored by observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe).