Ukraine's rebels said on Thursday that they had completed the withdrawal of their smaller weapons from a buffer zone in the ex-Soviet state's east.

The reported pullback was in line with a new trust-building agreement signed on September 1.

Only seven Ukrainian servicemen have been killed since the signing of the agreement.

Donetsk ground commander Eduard Basurin said the last nine mortars had been pulled back from Ilovaisk, a ­frontline town where Ukraine lost more that 100 servicemen in a rebel onslaught in August.

The pullback was witnessed by observers from intergovernmental group Organization for Security and Co­-operation in Europe.