KYIV. Oct 2 (Interfax) - It was agreed at the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) Meeting in Minsk on Tuesday to begin disengagement in the village of Petrivske in the Donetsk region and in the town of Zolote in the Luhansk region, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky said.
"The sides agreed to begin the disengagement of forces - I congratulate everyone on the beginning, we are putting much faith in it - the disengagement in Petrivske and in Zolote. I would like to reassure the local residents. I personally guarantee that you will be protected, and no withdrawal of military forces will affect your security. As an example of this, you know very well the situation in Stanytsia Luhanska that saw a safe disengagement of troops," Zelensky told a press briefing following a TCG meeting on Tuesday.
Zelensky recalled that a bridge for pedestrians over the Donets River, along which the Donbas contact line was drawn, is being restored in Stanytsia Luhanska. It is planned that the bridge will be ready by the end of November this year, he said.
On September 2, Zelensky announced the beginning of redevelopment works at the Stanytsia Luhanska bridge after a checkpoint was dismantled on the other side of the river uncontrolled by Kyiv. The bridge's restoration is a part of Ukraine's international obligations in terms of improving the humanitarian situation near the contact line.
According to the agreed schedule, a temporary crossing is planned to be installed nearby before October 11, 2019 and to the main bridge should be opened by November 27, the Ukrainian President's Office said.