DONETSK, June 3 (RIA Novosti) – The Ukrainian troops used military planes and helicopters while storming Slaviansk, in the eastern Donetsk region, independence fighters told RIA Novosti Tuesday.
“In the morning, around 5:00 a.m. local time [0:00 GMT] the Ukrainian army shelled Slaviansk. Then a fighting broke out simultaneously in several check points,” he said.
The most intense fighting had been underway near Krasnyi Lyman, a city to the north of Slaviansk, but self-defense forces repelled the attack, independence fighters said.
"The National Guard began to retreat from near Krasnyi Lyman. Several APCs are leaving the battlefield, some of enemy’s vehicles were hit by a RPG. The self-defense forces are exchanging gunfire more actively than the National Guard. Self-defense forces are furiously fighting and they wouldn’t give the enemy a break. There is no data on the dead and injures yet," the activists said.
The Ukraine's troops used military planes and helicopters in the attack on Semenovka village to the east of Saviansk, the independence figthers added.
No casualties have been reported so far. Ukraine’s army gathered a lot of military vehicles at the entrances to Slaviansk, ready to advance into the city, the protesters said.
Earlier in the day acting Ukrainian Interior Minister Aresen Avakov said that a military action is underway near Slaviansk using armored vehicles and grenade launchers.
Last week Donetsk, one of Ukraine’s largest cities, became the center of violent crackdown. Bloody battles between Kiev-led troops and local protesters in and around the international airport left about 100 people dead.
On Monday afternoon the Ukrainian Air Force carried out an airstrike on the administration building of Luhansk. According to Luhansk People’s Republic cluster bombs banned by the international convention were used in the attack. At least five people are thought to have been killed and dozens injured in an airstrike.
