Most Russian Forces Out of Ukraine

A whopping 70 percent of them are gone, according to Ukrainian intelligence.

President Petro O. Poroshenko of Ukraine said on Wednesday that the bulk of Russian forces had withdrawn from Ukrainian territory, a move that he said augmented the chances for a lasting cease-fire in the southeast.

Speaking at the start of a cabinet meeting that was broadcast nationally, the president also announced plans to move ahead with a law intended to cement the wobbly truce reached last Friday.

Mr. Poroshenko appeared to be trying to create a sense of momentum around the peace process, even though a final outcome remains the subject of arduous negotiations. The very law he discussed, for example, has been the source of widely different interpretations.