1 Aug 2014 19:31

Ukrainian paratroopers who kill civilians in southeastern Ukraine can't be called paratroopers - Shamanov

MOSCOW. Aug 1 (Interfax-AVN) - The servicemen of the 25th airborne brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, who are killing civilians in southeastern Ukraine, cannot be considered paratroopers, Colonel-General Vladimir Shamanov, commander of the Russian Landing Troops, told reporters on Friday.

"The Landing Troops have always fulfilled and will fulfill the most difficult missions in any war, defending their people. But not in a fratricidal war. It's our principle. I reiterate, paratroopers do not fight their fellow countrymen, they defend them," Shamanov said.

"Can representatives of this brigade now be called paratroopers? I am deeply convinced that they cannot," he said.

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