1,000 pro-Russians killed :Ukraine

Ukraine says it has dealt a heavy blow to pro-Russia protesters in the east by killing around one thousand of them.

Ukrainian military operations spokesman Andrey Lysenko said warplanes bombarded the pro-Russians’ positions near the restive eastern city of Donetsk, on Saturday.

“According to preliminary assessment, Ukrainian pilots … killed about 500 (rebel) fighters and damaged two armored transporters,” Lysenko said.
During an earlier air strike on a base near Perevalsk, north of Donetsk, two tanks, 10 armored vehicles and “about 500” rebel fighters were destroyed, he added.

Pro-Russian protesters deny the death tally, saying that Kiev forces are using outdated intelligence in relation to the self-defense forces’ deployment positions.

They also said at least 30 civilians were killed during Ukraine’s bombing of Maryinka near Donetsk.

On July 11, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko vowed to “find and destroy” the pro-Russia forces responsible for a missile attack that killed dozens of government troops.

According to Ukrainian military sources, pro-Russia forces launched the attack on a border post at Zelenopillya in Ukraine’s easternmost Lugansk region.

Ukraine’s mainly Russian-speaking parts in the east have witnessed deadly clashes between pro-Russia activists and the Ukrainian army since the government in Kiev launched military operations in mid-April in a bid to crush the pro-Russia protests.

Violence intensified in May after the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held local referendums, in which their residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Ukraine.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the ongoing military campaign in Ukraine, which has also forced tens of thousands to escape to Russia