You're reading: Luhansk People’s Republic militants round up Ukrainian troops in Izvaryne – media

Russian-led insurgents of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) have encircled the Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation forces near the border checkpoint in Izvaryne, with the Ukrainian army sustaining tangible losses, according to the Novorossiya agency.

“Militiamen fired grenade launchers against Ukrainian special forces from Kirovohrad at the Izvaryne border checkpoint in the Luhansk region. An ATO (anti-terrorist operation) source said eight troops were killed and around ten injured. The Ukrainian side also reported having been encircled in Izvaryne, the punitive forces’ self-propelled artillery launcher has been knocked down,” the statement said.

Meanwhile, “in the Sverdlovsk district of the Luhansk region, militiamen fired artillery and mortars against Ukrainian troops from the 72nd brigade. There is no data on army losses. There are many militiamen and armored vehicles in Sverdlovsk proper,” the agency also said.

An LPR spokesperson told Interfax that militants pushed the Ukrainian troops back from the town of Krasnodon which is close to the Izvaryne border checkpoint.

The spokesman for the information-analytical center of the National Security and Defense Council Andriy Lysenko said earlier that gunmen opened fire on personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, near the village Izvaryne, Luhansk region. He said they were trying to establish the losses of the Ukrainian side.