The Ukrainian military says it's begun withdrawing heavy weapons from eastern Ukraine as per the Minsk accords.

乌克兰军方称，依据明斯克协议，军方开始从乌克兰东部地区撤回重武器。

It comes after the rebels in eastern Ukraine announced a pull-out of their heavy weapons from the battlefield earlier this week.

Andriy Lysenko is a spokesperson for the Ukranian military.

"For the second day in a row we've been seeing significantly less shelling, so we're approaching the goal of fulfilling the first article of the Minsk accords - the cease-fire. Now we are creating all the necessary conditions to start implementing the second article - withdrawal of heavy weaponry."

Ukranian authorities say their withdrawl of heavy weapons is being monitored by the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.