LUHANSK, June 20 (RIA Novosti) – Luhansk defense forces are currently engaged in fighting with the Ukrainian military near the border with Russia, a spokesperson for the self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic told RIA Novosti.
“Starting from last night, protracted fighting has continued in the vicinity of the Dolzhanka and Gukovo checkpoints [The Ukrainian army is] trying to push us away from the border and take it under control,” the spokesperson said, adding that fighting is particularly fierce near the town Krasniy Partizan. There is no information on the number casualties so far.
Earlier, Russia’s OSCE envoy Andrei Kelin said Russia would react harshly to any border violations on the Ukrainian side. An incident took place on the night of June 13, in which a Ukrainian infantry combat vehicle violated the Russian border in Rostov Region. The vehicle stopped on Russian territory near the town of Millerovo. The troops exited the vehicle and returned to Ukrainian territory. Later the infantrymen tried to return the vehicle, without success, as Russian border control cut the attempt short. The incident is being looked in to by Russian investigators.
The spokesperson also reported that the Ukrainian Air Force bombed the outskirts of Luhansk last night. “The plane approached the city, flew over the city, but for some reason dropped the bombs on an empty field, near Stanytsia-Luhanska,” said the spokesperson.
Since mid-April, Kiev authorities have been conducting a special military operation to suppress the pro-independence movement in Ukraine’s southeastern territories. Hundreds of people, including civilians, have died in the self-proclaimed Luhansk and Donetsk people’s republics in the east of Ukraine over the past months.
Moscow, which describes the ongoing military actions as a punitive operation, has repeatedly called for an immediate end to the bloodshed.
