At noon comes the sign: A pro-Russian fighter fires a white-shining rocket in the village of Petrivske, south of Donetsk, and a little later, on the other side of the front line, a white glowing rocket also rises: the answer of the Ukrainian soldiers. A few minutes later, both sides shoot green rockets into the air.
On Saturday, the third leg of the withdrawal of Ukrainian soldiers and pro-Russian separatists began, with their weapons one kilometer away from the front line in Petrivske. The process called "unbundling" is being monitored by representatives of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, OSCE for short.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj had pressed for it and ordered the troop withdrawal in early October. In Minsk, his negotiators had agreed on two further unbundling at a meeting of the so-called Contact Group of Kiev and Moscow and the pro-Russian separatists from Luhansk and Donetsk. The Kremlin had made this condition for a meeting with Selenskyj, along with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Normandy summit is the format.
Alexander Ermochenko / REUTERS
Separatists from Donetsk: In Donbass, weapons seldom remain silent for long
But the process of withdrawal was delayed, first in Solote, Luhansk region, then in Petriwske. Reason is also that parts of the Ukrainian army with the course of their Commander-in-Chief Selenskyj to give up fought territory, hard to do. The weapons would have to rest for seven days before the retreat could begin, the military said. As long as weapons in Donbass seldom remain silent.
"The risks are very big"
This war already lasts for over five years, in which Russia assists the separatists in Donbass since 2014 with fighters and weapons. The majority of Ukrainians are tired of the war, but they do not want peace at any price. "The fear is great that Selenskyj the Kremlin meets too far," says the military expert Oleh Zhdanov. "The risks are very high, Selenskyj moves on a fine line. Who gives us guarantees?" To this day, Moscow speaks of a civil war in Ukraine as if it had nothing to do with the conflict.
While Selenskyj's attitude, which had previously made a name for himself as an actor and TV producer and had been elected head of state at 73 percent, was often vague, she was very clear about the Donbass war: "Our First Task is the Truce" he had said at his inauguration in May. He was ready to "fame, approval, and if necessary - without hesitation - to lose my post to bring peace."
Bloody posture war
On the 450-kilometer-long front line in the Donbass are the enemy troops in many places just a few hundred meters apart from each other, sniper are in position.
It is a bloody posture war that costs many lives. Selenskyj wants to end the dying of his soldiers. Since being in office, nine Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in October, 13 in September, eight in August, 14 in July, eight in June and nine in May. In total, more than 13,000 people have died on both sides, including 3300 civilians, according to the UN, since the conflict began. There was no idea for a peace plan for a long time, Selenskyj's predecessor Petro Poroshenko had staged himself as an opponent of Putin and even proclaimed the state of war at short notice.
There was no progress in the Belarusian capital on how to implement the 2015 Minsk Agreement for peace in eastern Ukraine. The last Normandy meeting is already three and a half years back.
Headwind for the first time
Selenskyj wants to change that. He wants a summit with Putin later this year, just for symbolic reasons: personally, he wants to speak with the Russian President about steps for a solution in the Donbass, reviving the peace process.
He has aroused expectations among western partners and the citizens of his country. In the summer, its representatives in Minsk had agreed on a first withdrawal of troops in Stanizja Luhanska (read the report here), then organized an exchange of prisoners with Russia. That brought a lot of applause to the president.
But the climate has changed, Selenskyj feels for the first time headwind: In October alone in Kiev over 10,000 people protested - not only nationalists, veterans and Poroshenko supporters. For them, the president went too far towards Moscow. The Ukraine had agreed to the so-called Steinmeier formula, named after the ex-Foreign Minister and Federal President (read here the background) - also a condition of the Kremlin for a Normandy meeting.
Moscow is playing for time
The Steinmeier formula is a step towards implementing the Minsk Agreement. These are local votes in the areas of Donzek and Luhansk occupied by pro-Russian fighters, a special status with more autonomy, which provisionally comes into effect on the evening of the election day for the areas. Security issues, such as the control of the eastern border, which are the subject of the Minsk Agreement, are not mentioned, which is why the Kremlin interprets the formula in its sense.
Whether Moscow keeps lasting influence in the Donbass, Selenskyj initially could not convincingly explain. A mistake, as he admitted later. "No surrender," the people shouted. There can be no question of that, replies Selensky. He wanted to find a consensus with the people on the Donbass issue.
But they would not understand what plan Selenskyj has for peace, says military expert Zhdanov. The Kiev political scientist Vladimir Fesenko says that the president and his team have no long-term plan, but only in stages, in consequences of series thought. After all, most of them would come from the TV production world.
And Moscow? "Time is playing for Putin," believes Zhdanov. For the Russian president - unlike Selenskyj - does not have the pressure to deliver results quickly. Most recently, the Kremlin declared that there are still many questions to be resolved for a Normandy summit.