Pro-Russian forces down Ukraine’s plane
Pro-Russian forces have shot down a Ukrainian army plane in the eastern city of Sloviansk as Kyiv continues its military offensive.
According to Vyacheslav Ponomaryov, the self-appointed mayor of Sloviansk, the plane was an Antonov An-30 intelligence plane, but Kyiv’s authorities claimed that the aircraft was carrying humanitarian aid.
Officials also announced that a member of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry’s special forces had been killed and two others injured during a mortar attack in Sloviansk on Friday.
Members of the government of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) made a desperate call for aid for the residents of Sloviansk on the same day.
“There is a huge humanitarian disaster and the people in Sloviansk really need help,” said Alexander Borodai, the DPR’s prime minister.
According to reports, schools, houses, institutions and even an orphanage have been targeted by Kyiv’s military in Sloviansk in recent weeks.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking eastern parts have been the scene of deadly clashes between pro-Russia protesters and the Ukrainian army since Kyiv launched military operations in the southeastern regions in mid-April in a bid to root out the demonstrations there.
Ukraine’s President-elect Petro Poroshenko has also ruled out negotiations with the pro-Russians, vowing to continue the military operations in the country’s southeastern provinces.
HRM/MHB/MAM