LUHANSK, July 15 (RIA Novosti) – The authorities of Ukraine’s eastern city of Luhansk announced a three-day mourning period for 18 people who died as a result of the shelling of residential buildings by the Ukrainian Army, a statement on the website of Luhansk authorities said Tuesday.
“Eighteen civilians died and 73 people got shrapnel and gunshot wounds in the past three days alone. With regard to these tragic events I decided to declare mourning on July 15, 16 and 17 in Luhansk,” Luhansk Mayor Sergei Kravchenko said.
The bloody battles between the Ukrainian Army and independence supporters in Luhansk and Donetsk regions intensified dramatically in early July, when Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko announced his decision not to extend a 10-day ceasefire. A special military operation launched by Kiev in mid-April to suppress independence supporters in the southeast of the country is currently ongoing.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned what it calls a punitive operation and has urged Kiev to stop the bloodshed in the region.
