Ukraine starts withdrawal of troops in rebel east

Ukraine's military said the withdrawal of government and Russian-backed rebel troops started at 12.00 local time (10.00 GMT) on Tuesday in Zolote, a town in the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk.

Ukrainian forces have fought rebels in the Donbass region in a conflict that has killed more than 13,000 people. Both sides have agreed to modest troop withdrawals but these have been disrupted many times by ceasefire violations.

"This (withdrawal) became possible by maintaining the ceasefire during the last week," Ukrainian Joint Forces Operation said on Facebook.

Russian state agency RIA said rebels had also begun withdrawing troops from the contact line.