Pro-Russians lose fierce battle in Krasny Liman
Iran Press TV
Thu Jun 19, 2014 4:39PM
Pro-Russia protesters in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region have reportedly lost a fierce battle with government forces.
Pro-Russia protesters said they were not able to counter Ukrainian government forces in the fierce battle which broke out in the Krasny Liman region, early on Thursday.
According to a pro-Russian commander they were faced with a huge superiority in heavy armor on the government side at Yampil.
'We beat off the first attack and destroyed one tank. But it is difficult to take on 20 tanks. The battle is going on,' he said.
The recent clashes come a day after the Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko announced that he would soon order a unilateral truce in the country's troubled east, as part of a broader plan to end the bloodshed in the region.
The truce bid will be offered on Friday.
Ukrainian troops have been carrying out military operations since mid-April to suppress pro-Russia protesters in the east of the country.
The violence intensified after the two regions declared independence from Ukraine on May 12 following local referendums, in which the provinces' residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kiev. The referendums were called illegal by Ukrainian authorities.
The government in Kiev says it is targeting armed protesters, but reports say many civilians have been caught in the shelling that has been going on for days.
According to figures published by Ukraine's Health Ministry last week, the death toll from clashes between Ukrainian and pro-Moscow forces has reached 270 in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk since the operations started this spring.
SRK/AB
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