KIEV, Oct. 1 (Xinhua) -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that an agreement on the troop pullback in Petrivske, Donetsk Region and the city of Zolote, Luhansk Region was reached at a Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) meeting in Minsk on Tuesday.
"An agreement was reached on the troop pullback. I congratulate everyone with the start, we really believe in it -- the troop withdrawal in Petrivske and Zolote. By the way, I want to reassure the local citizens. I personally guarantee that you will be protected and the military pullback will not affect your safety," said the president during a briefing following the TCG meeting.
The Trilateral Contact Group consists of Russia, Ukraine and the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE).
The military will start leaving the positions on both sides of the contact line around Zolote and Petrivske on Oct. 7, a special representative of the OSCE chairperson-in-office said in Ukraine, Interfax Ukraine reported on Tuesday.
The troop pullback on both sides of the contact line around Stanytsia Luhanska was made in June this year. Units withdrawal was fully completed by both sides and confirmed by the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine on June 30.
The ongoing conflict in the east of Ukraine started in April 2014.
