Ukraine, separatists begin planned troop withdrawal in eastern region - witness

Ukrainian government forces and Russian-backed rebels began a planned withdrawal of troops and weaponry from a village in the eastern Donbas region on Saturday, a Reuters witness at the scene said. The troop pullback in the village of Petrivske is one of a series of confidence-building measures that could pave the way for a four-way summit between Ukraine, Russia, France, and Germany aimed at ending the simmering Donbas conflict.

Fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed fighters has killed more than 13,000 since 2014, with both sides accused each other of violating a ceasefire that was agreed in the Belarus capital Minsk in 2015. The Kyiv government has said the withdrawal in the village of Petrivske would mean that Ukraine has fulfilled all necessary conditions from its side for a peace summit to take place.

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