Some 900 Ukrainian servicemen killed in fighting in Donbas - DPR

DONETSK. March 10 (Interfax) - Nearly 900 servicemen of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been killed and more than 1,000 have been wounded since the start of fighting in Donbas, spokesman for the militia of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Eduard Basurin said.

"The adversary's losses since the start of the special military operation are the following: the 95th separate air assault brigade - 68 Ukrainian Armed Forces servicemen dead and 89 wounded; the 25th separate airborne brigade - 63 servicemen dead and 85 wounded; the 56th separate marine brigade -79 servicemen dead and 106 wounded; the 54th separate mechanized brigade - 119 servicemen dead and 126 wounded; 53rd separate mechanized brigade - 232 servicemen dead, including the brigade's commander, and 215 wounded; 36th separate marine brigade - 209 servicemen dead and 221 wounded; the 12th specialized defense brigade - 125 dead and 199 wounded," Basurin told reporters on Thursday.

DPR forces are engaged in street fighting in the Ukrainian city o Mariupol, he said.

"During street fighting in the city of Mariupol, our defenders have destroyed 22 firing points of the adversary and have eliminated up to 40 Ukrainian nationalists. Two BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket systems, which were used to shell residential areas, have been seized," Basurin said.

Over the past 24 hours, eight civilians, including two children, have been evacuated from residential buildings that were taken by DPR forces under control, he said.

Since the beginning of the day, Ukrainian armed units have opened fire on DPR territory 25 times, "using 122mm multiple launch rocket systems, 122mm tube artillery, 120mm and 82mm mortars, and various grenade launchers," he said. Eight civilians, among them two children, were injured in strikes mounted over the aforementioned period, he said.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces are deploying their hardware and support points on the grounds of the social infrastructure in Donbas, Basurin said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the start of a special military operation in Ukraine on February 24. In response, Western countries have imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia.