Ukraine vows to crush pro-Russians ‘within a month’
A senior Ukrainian official says the ongoing military operation against pro-Russia forces may last another month while rejecting calls for a ceasefire.
Adviser to Ukrainian Interior Minister Stanislav Rechinsky announced on Thursday that the offensive would stretch across several parts of the troubled east.
Rechinsky added that last pockets of resistance would be crushed “within a month,” also giving assurances that “there will be no air or artillery strikes” on mainly Russian-speaking cities.
The Interior Ministry official stated that it rejects any ceasefire now that the assault has begun.
Ukraine has launched an offensive against pro-Russian forces in the eastern cities of Donetsk and Lugansk. More than 1,000 people are believed to have been killed since April.
Valery Bolotov, the leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic, said some 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed in the fighting over Lugansk International Airport on Thursday.
Three Ukrainian soldiers were also killed and 27 others wounded in clashes between pro-Russia forces and government troops in the restive region early on Wednesday.
Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kyiv launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the pro-Russia protests.
Violence intensified in May after the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held local referendums in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.
JR/MHB/SS