Ukraine separatists withdraw 80% of heavy weaponry

The self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has withdrawn 80 percent of its heavy weaponry from the line of contact, the republic's press center announced Saturday, according to Sputnik news agency.
"As of midday February 28, the people's militia corps secured the withdrawal of 80 percent of heavy weapons from the line of demarcation," the press center announcement read.
It was added that the pullout was scheduled to be completed by March 2-3, "in the absence of emergency situations."
The republic's envoy at the Contact Group talks on Ukrainian reconciliation Vladislav Deinego reaffirmed LPR's strict adherence with the Minsk accord to RIA Novosti earlier on Friday.
According to Deinego, two columns of large-caliber arms were to be withdrawn from the frontline under the supervision of a monitoring mission of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
Luhansk and Donetsk, the two regions in eastern Ukraine, and Kiev authorities initially agreed to withdraw heavy arms from the contact line in September 2014, when the first ceasefire deal was reached in Minsk, Belarus.