Ukrainian defense minister says over 40,000 militants, 550 tanks are in rebel-controlled areas

13:19, 08.06.2015 1 min read

A 40,000-men contingent possessing over 550 tanks has been accumulated in the areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions uncontrolled by Kyiv, Ukrainian Defense Minister Stepan Poltorak has said.

"The joint contingent of the Russian Armed Forces and illegal armed units stationed on the temporarily occupied territory consists of over 42,500 persons," Poltorak said at a meeting of the Ukraine-NATO Inter-Parliamentary Council in Kyiv on Monday.

According to the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, militants have as 556 tanks at their disposal.

"As we understand, such quantities are sufficient for arming a medium-sized European country," the minister said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said last Thursday that "14 Russian battalion tactical groups comprising of over 9,000 servicemen are staying on the territory of Ukraine."