Poroshenko urges servicemen not to cede Donetsk airport
KYIV. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has urged Ukrainian military servicemen not to cede their positions at the Donetsk airport.
"I am confident that we are defending the entire Ukraine there: if we surrender 'Donetsk', the enemy will be in Boryspil, Hostomel [the Kyiv region] or Lviv," the presidential press service quoted Poroshenko as saying at a meeting with servicemen holding the Donetsk airport and volunteers who help supply them.
Poroshenko suggested that the Donetsk airport defenders would be mentioned in Ukrainian history textbooks. "The words 'cyborg' and 'ukrop' have become symbols of the Ukrainian spirit's invincibility and combat capability. Future generations of the Ukrainian warriors will be raised based on such examples," he said.
The servicemen defending the Donetsk airport have been nicknamed 'cyborgs'. Donbas militias also call Ukrainian soldiers fighting them 'ukrops'.
Poroshenko said six Ukrainian servicemen had been killed "for freedom, independence and sovereignty of Ukraine the previous night."
The president also mentioned the role that volunteers play in supplying the armed forces, saying that over 80% of Ukrainians have provided assistance to the Ukrainian armed forces in various forms.
He suggested that he saw as efficient the involvement of volunteers in the armed forces' maintenance.
Chief of staff of the Ukrainian armed forces Viktor Muzhenko attending the meeting noted that, despite problems with supplies, the army's capability is growing.
