Two killed in rebel attack at eastern Ukraine airport
World Bulletin/News Desk
At least two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and nine others were wounded on Thursday in a pro-Russian separatist attack on the Donetsk airport, according to Andrey Lysenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council.
Pro-Russian separatists were continuing their attacks on the airport on Friday, Lysenko said. The violence continues although a cease-fire was declared in eastern Ukraine on Sept. 5 in the Russian city of Minsk.
The rebels have used tanks, multiple-launch rocket systems, artillery and mortars, Lysenko said, and they resumed their attacks on Thursday morning with small-arms fire.
The airport is strategically important, lying just outside Donetsk, the largest city held by the rebels. Its capture by the separatists would help them to resupply.
Unrest in eastern Ukraine has torn the region apart since April, when Kyiv launched military operations in the provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk to restore government control after separatists had declared independence in the region.
