Ukrainian National Guard has shot wounded Donetsk 'militiamen' in hospital - self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic PM
DONETSK. June 3 (Interfax) - Armed units of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic have retreated from the community of Krasny Lyman in the Donetsk region, and Ukrainian National Guard troops that entered it shot the wounded 'militiamen' staying at a local hospital, Alexander Borodai, the Donetsk People's Republic prime minister, said at a press conference on Tuesday with reference to Donetsk People's Republic's commander-in-chief Igor Strelkov.
The 'militiamen' had to leave Krasny Lyman, where "fierce battles took place today," he said.
"We left the community of Krasny Lyman and the hospital of this populated area, in which those wounded were staying. The National Guard shot the wounded at the Krasny Lyman hospital, leaving no one alive there," Borodai said.
He did not specify the number of 'militiamen' he claimed were shot at the hospital.
Interfax has yet to obtain information concerning the matter from alternative sources.
Borodai added that bitter fighting was under way in Slovyansk. "The National Guard is trying to take control of the Kharkiv highway to ensure reinforcements. The battle is on, but we don't fear defeat. We fear civilian deaths," he said.
Borodai also claimed that gangs of robbers were acting in the region under the guise of Donetsk People's Republic men, who kill people and extort money from them. "All these groups don't have any relation to the DPR. All those extorting money on our behalf are gangsters," he said.
Borodai mentioned a gang from Makiyivka detained on Monday, which stole scrap metal from the Donetsk Metallurgic Plant.
Borodai denied that there were plans to nationalize private property in the Donetsk People's Republic. "Private property is above all, and we are still continuing negotiations with Mr. [Rinat] Akhmetov," he said.
Donetsk is on the verge of a humanitarian disaster, Borodai said. The city is running out of medicines and food, and there are significant difficulties with humanitarian aid's access, he said.
