Rebels claim all weapons withdrawn from Ukraine

Kiev - Russian-backed rebels in eastern Ukraine on Sunday claimed to have withdrawn all heavy weaponry from the front lines in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, thereby fulfilling one of the key conditions of a peace deal hammered out in Minsk last month.

The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), charged with monitoring weapons withdrawal on both sides, has not confirmed the move, which comes one day ahead of the 2 March withdrawal deadline agreed in the Belarussian capital.

Alexander Hug, deputy head of the 450-strong OSCE mission in Ukraine, expressed on Saturday "cautious optimism" about the ceasefire.