The counter-terror operation will be carried on the east of Ukraine until all illegal armed formations neutralized, First Deputy Premier of Ukraine Vitaliy Yarema has said.
“We’ll carry these operations until there will be no terrorist on the territory of Ukraine,” he told the journalists during the sitting of the Cabinet of Ministers on May 27.
The launch of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ operation to retake control of parts of eastern Ukraine was declared in the first half of April.
The “active phase” of the operation in eastern Ukraine was suspended for the period of the country’s presidential elections on May 25, but it has already been resumed, Yarema said.
“You were able to see its results yesterday,” he said.
Yarema, however, declined to say exactly for how long this operation would continue.
When commenting on the situation at Donetsk airport, Yarema said that investigators were currently working at the site and assessing the casualties.
Ukrainian security forces launched a large-scale military operation against militants of the so-called ‘Donetsk People’s Republic’ in Donetsk on Monday. At first, gun battles centered around the area of the airport, which suspended its operations, then spread to the district surrounding Donetsk’s train station.
The leader of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”, Denys Pushylin, said earlier on May 27 that the local “self-defense forces” were still controlling the airport building.
Two Ukrainian army helicopters were shot down during overnight armed clashes near Donetsk airport, Pushylin said.
