Actually, it was already agreed in 2016 that the parties to the conflict should withdraw from Eastern Ukraine - but only a few days ago they started with it. Now President Volodymyr Selenskyj has agreed to another troop withdrawal. On 4 November, there should be a demilitarization in Petriwske in the Donetsk region, he said during a visit by NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Russia called the process known as "unbundling" in the frontline an important precondition for a summit meeting in the so-called Normandie format (France, Germany, Ukraine, Russia). Previously, the conflicting parties - the Ukrainian Army and the pro-Russian separatists - had already begun withdrawing troops from the Luhansk region in Solote. They brought troops and equipment away about a mile from the front line.
The Federal Government, mediator in Ukraine conflict, welcomed this. In a telephone conversation with Selenskyj, Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the next step should be the "unbundling" in the town of Petriwske.
Stoltenberg: "Russia must end its support in Donbass"
In Ukraine, the Ukrainian army has been fighting against pro-Russian separatists supported by Russia since 2014. According to Uno estimates, around 13,000 people have since been killed. Moscow officially sees itself as a mediator in the conflict.
Meanwhile, Stoltenberg demanded that Russian troops and military equipment withdraw from eastern Ukraine. "Russia must end its support in Donbass," he said. NATO continued to provide Ukraine with practical assistance. This includes the training of Ukrainian soldiers. Selenskyj said again that Ukraine wanted membership in NATO.
At the beginning of October, representatives of the Russian government and the Ukrainian government each sent letters to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). It is about political steps after the so-called "Steinmeier formula", named after the German Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. According to this, there should be free elections under Ukrainian law in the territories occupied by pro-Russian fighters.
If the votes are recognized as fair and democratic, the regions were automatically given a special status, the control of the Ukrainian eastern border would be handed over to Kiev. In the letters, both governments basically confirmed the Steinmeier formula. However, there are still disagreements over the organization of the elections.