Updated 2:41 p.m. Moscow Time
MOSCOW, September 23 (RIA Novosti) – A spokesman for Kiev's east Ukraine special operation command said Tuesday that independence forces had fired no shots at Ukrainian military overnight.
"The situation in east Ukraine remains stable, the [Monday] night was calm for those on duty at roadblocks, fortifications and observation posts. Starting from 23:57 [local time, 20:57 GMT], not a single shot was fired at Ukrainian servicemen," spokesman Vladislav Seleznev said.
A ceasefire agreement between Kiev and independence supporters in eastern Ukraine was established on September 5 during a trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine meeting in Minsk. Early Saturday morning, the Contact Group drew up a memorandum of nine provisions to regulate the implementation of the agreement.
The memorandum is also based on the peace plan proposed by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko in May and the initiatives unveiled by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 3. It envisages the establishment of a 17-mile-long buffer zone.
One of the provisions sets forth that all weapons more than 100 millimeters in diameter be moved at least 15 kilometers from the contact line on both sides, including from residential areas, which would create an opportunity to establish a buffer zone.
Independence forces in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk have withdrawn their artillery from the line of contact, following the Minsk agreement, the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) military command said Tuesday.
