WASHINGTON, August 15 (RIA Novosti) – Washington urges Kiev authorities not to use heavy artillery in a military operation against eastern independence supporters to reduce casualties among the civilian population, US State Department deputy spokesperson Marie Harf said Thursday.
“We’ve called on them not to use weapons that could increase that,” Harf said during the daily briefing.
Washington is very supportive of Kiev authorities and their military operation in eastern regions of Ukraine, the spokesperson added.
Kiev has been conducting a military operation targeting Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government and chose to pursue independence.
Since the start of the special operation in eastern Ukraine in mid-April, a total of 1,367 people have been killed and another 4,087 wounded, including 2,589 civilians and 29 children, according to a report by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). At least 117,000 people have been forcibly displaced.
