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Donetsk republic will start withdrawal of mortars on November 6 — JCCC

Artillery withdrawal may be completed in the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic by the end of the day

MOSCOW, October 28. /TASS/. Withdrawal of mortars will start in Ukraine's self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) on November 6, Russian envoy to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination (JCCC) Hasan Kaloyev said on Wednesday.

"Withdrawal of mortars of less than 120mm caliber will start in DPR on November 6," Kaloyev told Donetsk News Agency.

Withdrawing artillery of less than 100mm caliber may be completed by end of Wednesday

According to Kaloyev artillery withdrawal may be completed in the self-proclaimed Donetsk republic by the end of the day.

"After OSCE’s [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] mission completes verification of weaponry, we can say that all artillery systems of less than 100mm caliber are withdrawn. This will happen today," Donetsk News Agency quoted Kaloyev as saying.

Earlier today, DPR launched the second stage weaponry withdrawal in Donbas. Today, artillery of less than 100mm caliber will be pulled out from the contact line. DPR defense ministry said that 15 Rapira anti-tank guns will be withdrawn to Ilovaysk. Last Thursday, on October 22, DPR completed withdrawal of tanks from the contact line.

The withdrawal will be completed in three stages - firstly, from the Deblatsevo direction, then from the southern direction and lastly from the contact line near Donetsk. In accordance with the reached agreement, tanks are withdrawn first, followed by artillery weapons of less than 100mm caliber and mortars. The first stage should start two days after the complete ceasefire and finish in 15 days. The second stage will take 24 days to complete. The withdrawal will start in the "North" sector on the LPR territory and will continue in the "South" sector in DPR. The whole process of withdrawal is expected to take a total of 41 days.

The supplement to the Package of measures on implementing the Minsk Agreements from 12 February 2015 was agreed upon on September 29 at the negotiations of the Contact Group in Minsk. The supplement envisages withdrawal of tanks, artillery weapons of less than 100mm caliber, and mortars of equal to or less than 120mm caliber to a distance of 15 kilometers from the contact line in Donbas.