Armed men in eight Kamaz vehicles rounded up a Ukrainian National Guard unit in Oleksandrivsk, Luhansk region, on May 29 afternoon, the National Guard said on its website.
The attackers were armed with automatic rifles, machine-guns and grenade launchers, it said.
“Law enforcers have offered resistance. A fierce fight is under way,” the statement said.
The Luhansk regional police authority said the alleged attackers were members of the Southeast Army.”
“We’ve had a call from Military Unit No. 3035 and were told that in Oleksandrivsk, where part of the unit – conscripts and contract soldiers – is deployed, there was a battle for between 30 and 40 minutes between the soldiers and the armed militants who were trying to capture the unit,” police authority spokeswoman Tetiana Pohukai told Interfax-Ukraine.
“A direct hit at an armaments depot during the battle detonated some ammunition and there was an explosion,” she said.
“So far there has been no information about any casualties among the troops,” Pohukai said.
The press service of the unilaterally proclaimed “Luhansk Peoples Republic” confirmed her words.
“Members of the militia arrived at the base of the military unit to persuade the servicemen to surrender,” the service told Interfax. “A direct hit at an ammunition depot set off an explosion.”
