Ukraine begins to withdraw heavy artillery from separation line

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of Ukraine announced on Feb. 26 that it has begun to withdraw its heavy artillery from the separation line in the war-torn Donbas region. “Fulfilling the agreements achieved in Minsk on Feb. 12, Ukraine today is beginning to withdraw its 100-mm cannons from the separation line,” its statement said. “This is first step in withdrawing heavy artillery is taking place exclusively under the monitoring and verification of the OSCE.” The schedule for withdrawing heavy artillery will be adjusted should the Russian-backed separatists attempt to attack afterwards, the statement said.

The withdrawal of heavy artillery began in the regions surrounding Debaltseve and the Donetsk airport, a local police official told a Ukrainian television network on Feb. 26. It will be extended along the entire separation line if it’s upheld, he said. The artillery is being removed beyond 25 kilometers from the separation line, reported the anti-terrorist operation press service the same day.

The Russian-backed separatists are removing only a small part of their heavy artillery from the separation line and not by those distances stipulated by the Feb. 12 Minsk ceasefire accords, reported on Feb. 27 Dmytro Tymchuk, a Ukrainian PM and a leader of the InfoResist news site. Although the Luhansk People’s Republic claimed on Feb. 26 that it withdrew 80 percent of its heavy artillery, Tymchuk said its fighters withdrew only 10-15 percent of what they claimed. Moreover, the artillery was withdrawn not to the Minsk accords distances, but closer in order to return them within 40 minutes’ time, Tymchuk reported on his Facebook page. The separatists claimed to have withdrawn 336 units of long-barreled artillery and 58 rapid-fire missile launchers between Feb. 24 and 25. 

Zenon Zawada: Such efforts at peace, despite the egregious ceasefire violations, are being urged by Western governments, which are trying their best to avoid escalating the conflict. Peace is in the best interests of all parties involved. Yet basing our expectations on the conduct of the Russian-backed separatists and their statements (intending to expand their territory of control), we don’t expect they will respond in kind by withdrawing their artillery (or at least not to the extent that the Ukrainians are doing). Instead, we expect them to repeat what they did following the first ceasefire declaration and use the opportunity to re-position their forces in preparation for their next attacks.