Ukraine army confirms death of ten paratroopers near Shakhtarsk
KYIV. Aug 1 (Interfax) - The press center of the army operation in eastern Ukraine has confirmed the death of ten Ukrainian paratroopers as a result of an armed clash near the city of Shakhtarsk on Thursday.
The dead bodies of eight soldiers have already been removed from the site.
"An exchange of fire between servicemen of anti-terrorist operation forces and terrorists broke out to the north of the city of Shakhtarsk on July 31. Our soldiers were trapped in an ambush. However, despite the seriousness of the situation, they accepted the battle. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian paratroopers sustained losses - ten Ukrainian soldiers were killed," the operation press center said on its Facebook account on Friday.
"The Ukrainian servicemen have already been brought out of the area of the active phase of the anti-terrorist operation. Eight bodies have been removed. Issues concerning the transportation of the two remaining bodies are being tackled. The situation has been complicated by the fact that the militants are shelling the site of the armed clash all the time, preventing the evacuation of the dead bodies. Furthermore, specialists of the anti-terrorist operation forces are having difficulty identifying the bodies because the militants are dressed in Ukrainian uniforms and lack any insignia," the press center said.
Military operation headquarters press officer Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky said earlier today that 14 people had been killed in the July 31 shootout. Of them, ten were identified, but the identities of the other four remain unclear, he said.
