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Developments in eastern Ukraine

Intensity of hostilities drop in east Ukraine after ceasefire signed — Ukraine official

On September 20, the Contact Group on Ukraine adopted a memorandum on implementing a ceasefire

© EPA/ALEXANDER ERMOCHENKO

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Kiev moves hundreds of armoured vehicles to east of Ukraine amid ceasefire

KIEV, October 9. /TASS/. Since the Minsk agreements, have come into effect the intensity of hostilities in eastern Ukraine has dropped considerably, spokesman for the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council Andriy Lysenko said on Thursday.

“On September 5, offensive operations were halted and Ukrainian servicemen remained in their positions. It is clear that the intensity of hostilities has dropped,” Lysenko said, adding that such trouble spots as the airport of Donetsk, the towns of Schastye and Debaltsevo remained.

On September 20, the Contact Group on Ukraine adopted a memorandum on implementing a ceasefire. OSCE envoy Heidi Tagliavini, Ukraine’s former president Leonid Kuchma, Russia’s Ambassador to Kiev Mikhail Zurabov, Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko and the head of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic Igor Plotnitsky signed the nine-item document that included a ban on all weapons, pulling back heavy weaponry from the line of engagement and setting up a buffer zone of 15 kilometres.

The memorandum also entrusts the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) with a task of observing the implementation of the agreements.

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