Ukraine's Defense Ministry has announced the disengagement of forces and weapons near the town of Zolote in Luhansk region will last three days.
"In general, the withdrawal of forces and assets will take three days. On November 1, the OSCE SMM [Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine] will be informed through [Ukraine's] Ministry of Foreign Affairs about the completion of the disengagement process," Commander of Ukraine's Joint Forces Volodymyr Kravchenko said at a briefing in Kramatorsk on October 29, the ministry said on its website.
The disengagement became possible on October 29 after OSCE SMM observers recorded the latest violation of the ceasefire in the disengagement area near Zolote-4 on October 18, he said.
Read alsoStarting today, disengagement launched in Zolote (UPDATE)
The withdrawal is being monitored by OSCE SMM personnel, who used drones, and the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) of the ceasefire and stabilization of the contact line in Donbas, eastern Ukraine.
The commander reported about the chronology of the start of the disengagement on October 29 in detail.
"At 12:00 Kyiv time, a white flare was sent by both sides, confirming readiness for simultaneous withdrawal. At 12:15 Kyiv time, repeated green flares were sent to confirm the readiness. At 12:20 Kyiv time, the withdrawal of forces and assets began. Next, from 12:20 to 14:00 Kyiv time, 15 members of [Ukraine's] Joint Forces with weapons were relocated one kilometer from their positions, they took beforehand prepared positions," he said.
According to him, also landmine search and destruction operations will be conducted depending on the operational and tactical situation and fortifications and other military facilities within the disengagement site will be dismantled.
As UNIAN reported earlier, the disengagement of forces and weapons began near Zolote-4 along both sides of the contact line at noon on October 29.
