Militants of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have stolen over UAH 46.5 million and $9.9 million and valuables held in safe-deposit boxes from public joint-stock company National Bank for Development (VBR, Kyiv) at its central office located at 102, Khmelnytsky Street in Donetsk.

"Late on June 2 armed persons of the so-called DPR broke into the office of the bank and during 12 hours tried to open the bank's safe deposit vault, using special equipment. In the morning on June 3 the robbers managed to destroy one of the walls of the vault and seize over UAH 46.5 million and $9.9 million and valuables in safe-deposit boxes of the bank's clients," the press service of MAKO Group, which incorporates VBR, reported last week.

The bank submitted an application on the robbery to the police in Kyiv.

VBR was founded in 2009, it is part of MAKO Group.

VBR ranked 36th among 158 operating banks as of January 1, 2015 in terms of total assets worth UAH 5.635 billion, according to the National Bank of Ukraine.