Pro-Russia Rebels Claim Weapons Pullback

Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine claimed Tuesday that they have started pulling back heavy weapons, according to top rebel commander Eduard Basarin. Such a pullback was part of the ceasefire agreed to in Minsk, Belarus, this month as part of a way to create a buffer zone between the two groups. A report from Anna Nemtsova for The Daily Beast indicates that the rebels are still very much armed and fighting. The announcement came a day after Ukrainian military spokesman Lt. Col. Anatoliy Stelmakh said the country would not begin its own pullback of weapons until the rebels ceased attacks. The rebel claim of a weapons pullback has not yet been confirmed by monitors for the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. The initial ceasefire steps were supposed to go into effect on Feb. 15, but fighting has continued between both sides.