Pro-Russia separatists today claimed that at least 30 of their fighters had been killed in heavy fighting with Ukrainian forces over an airport in the breakaway region of Donetsk.
Government forces are reported to have used combat jets and helicopter gunships against to repel a revel attempt to seize control of Sergei Prokofiev Donetsk airport.
A rebel fighter, who would not give his name, said outside the hospital in Donetsk that 30 bodies of his fellow insurgents were delivered there.
He said the truck carrying the bodies was still parked outside the hospital, waiting for explosives experts to check for any unexploded bombs.
Sustained artillery and gun fire had been heard from the airport in Donetsk, a city of one million, yesterday. Fighter jets and military helicopters were seen flying overhead and dense black smoke rose in the air. Many flights to or from Donetsk were delayed or canceled and access to the airport was blocked by police.
The airstrikes against the separatists in control of Donetsk airport appeared to be the most visible government military operation yet since it started a crackdown on insurgents last month.
Monday’s battle came just as billionaire candy magnate Petro Poroshenko claimed victory in Sunday’s presidential vote. Mr Poroshenko has vowed to negotiate a peaceful end to an insurgency in the east, where rebels have seized government offices and fought Ukrainian troops for more than a month. Yet he described the separatists as “Somali pirates.”
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow was “open to dialogue” with Mr Poroshenko but insisted that military action against separatists must end.
