Militants in east feel impunity and continue to kill Ukrainians - Foreign Ministry
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has stated that members of illegal armed groups continue to kill Ukrainians amid Kyiv's efforts to implement the peace plan of President Petro Poroshenko to resolve the conflict in the country's eastern regions.
The ministry's information policy department issued such a statement on Wednesday.
"An Mi-8 helicopter was shot down with MANPADS yesterday evening near Sloviansk, and nine Ukrainian servicemen were killed. Two more servicemen were killed and four injured yesterday during shooting by terrorists at a roadblock of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. In general, over 40 incidents involving the use of weapons by terrorists have been reported since June 20. We see once again that pro-Russian terrorists do not want peace. They came to wage war and will stop at nothing to destroy peace and safety in Ukraine," reads the statement.
The ministry noted that militants also tried to prevent the evacuation of 35 children with disabilities from the Antoshka orphanage in Kramatorsk to Kharkiv region.
"All these horrible cases show that despite declarative statements by the Russian Federation, Russian terrorists feel impunity and promotion. Moscow has never once condemned terrorist attacks, and as a matter of principle does not express regret over the numerous people killed at the hands of the militants," reads the statement.
In this regard, Kyiv urges its international partners to express "solidarity in the large-scale fight against the aggression seen in the east of the country."