Withdrawal of weapons of caliber less than 100 mm in Donbas starts with Luhansk region

"It is expected to begin in the Luhansk region and then the procedure will spread to the other territories located along the division line," he told a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday. "We are hoping that side will fulfill those obligations, which consist of the contact line being without heavy weapons, without weapons less than 100 mm," Lysenko said. He said that the agreement on the withdrawal from the contact line of weapons of a caliber less than 100 mm signed in Minsk on Tuesday is the diplomatic victory of Kyiv. "The signing of an appendix to the Package of Measures to fulfill the Minsk agreements, which contains a provision on the withdrawal of weapons of a caliber less than 100 mm, including tanks and mortars, is a very important step. We believe it is a diplomatic victory, the victory of our representatives in the trilateral working group," Lysenko said. He said the document provides that all weapons of a caliber less than 100 mm, including mortars of a caliber higher than 800 mm and tanks, armored vehicles containing weapons of a caliber less than 100 mm, will be withdrawn from the engagement line in the anti-terrorist operation zone to a distance of 15 km for a start. "We are convinced that it is another step in the direction of peace in the conflict area," Lysenko said.