Ukrainian army's losses near Ilovaisk in Aug 2014 can be properly counted only in ten years - DPR's Purgin
DONETSK. Aug 15 (Interfax) - The number of Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen killed near Ilovaisk in August 2014, which was announced by Kyiv on Friday, is a 'political figure', the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) has said.
"It is not very clear how they counted these losses. Excavations continue there today, and the casualties could be far higher by the time of retreat. There are makeshift graves in the area that were made during stopovers during the retreat. It will be possible to count these losses only in ten years' time. And what was announced is simply a political figure," Speaker of the DPR People's Council Andrei Purgin told reporters on Saturday.
"The OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) registered then that 25%-30% of the battalions' personnel had not been documented," he said.
Ukraine's Chief Military Prosecutor Anatoliy Matios said on Friday, citing the results of a comprehensive evaluation, that a total of 366 Ukrainian troops and law enforcement officers had been killed and 429 had been wounded in the events that occurred near Ilovaisk, Donetsk region, in August 2014.
"The casualties of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard and Interior Ministry are 366 dead and 429 wounded. A total of 128 people were captured and 158 are listed as missing," Matios said while presenting the results of an evaluation of the events associated with the military operation near Ilovaisk in Kyiv on Friday.
According to earlier reports, the militia encircled volunteer battalions and units of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry and Armed Forces near Ilovaisk in late August 2014, which led to considerable casualties and the capture of Ukrainian troops.
In the meantime, according to the militia, Kyiv is deliberately underestimating its Ilovaisk casualties, which exceed 1,000 people.