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Signs of hope for Ukraine cease-fire

KIEV, Ukraine -- Ukrainian military officials said Friday that government forces were withdrawing heavy rocket launchers from the front line with Russian-backed separatists in accordance with last month's cease-fire accord.

Military spokesman Col. Andriy Lysenko said the Uragan launchers were being pulled back by 22 miles from the line of contact.

Both sides in the conflict, which has claimed more than 6,000 lives since flaring up in April, have given assurances they are complying with pullback requirements. Monitors from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe have complained that they have been obstructed from conducting exhaustive verifications, however.

What Ukraine ceasefire deal entails 01:35

Also, despite the heavy weapons withdrawals, multiple skirmishes and exchanges continue to be reported daily.

Lysenko accused rebels of mustering equipment, weapons and manpower in several locations in preparation for potential upcoming offensives.

President Obama has come under mounting pressure from U.S. lawmakers from both parties to provide more assistance to the Ukrainian forces battling the rebels.

In spite of repeated denials from Moscow, the U.S. and its allies say the evidence is irrefutable that Vladimir Putin's government is directly supporting the separatists, providing everything from heavy weapons to Russian infantry and commanders.

The European Union's foreign policy chief spoke out Friday against the bipartisan calls in Washington to provide lethal, defensive weapons to Ukraine.

Federica Mogherini said Friday that "the European Union is doing enough" and insisted that the implementation of the peace deal brokered in Minsk "is the way to go forward."

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been particularly outspoken against pouring more firepower into the conflict, but no European leaders have backed the calls to add more weapons to the mix.

Mogherini said "what Ukraine needs now is not only the full respect of its sovereignty, of its territorial integrity but it is also peace."

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