You're reading: Some 20 Ukrainian servicemen killed near Sloviansk, member of parliament says

About 20 Ukrainian military servicemen involved in the military operation have been killed outside Sloviansk, Donetsk region, says Iryna Sekh, a member of the Svoboda parliamentary faction.

 “It’s just been reported that tens of our servicemen were killed in the Sloviansk area. These are servicemen from Brigade 24 from the Yavoriv district [in Lviv region],” Sekh said at a Verkhovna Rada session on June 19 evening.

Sekh claimed that some servicemen were not properly equipped and lacked personal protective gear. “We see today that no sooner had we buried those killed near Luhansk, we have more than twenty deaths again,” she said.

Yuriy Syrotiuk of the Svoboda faction told Interfax-Ukraine that the matter involved those killed on June 19.

“This happened today in battles that are under way near Sloviansk,” he said.

The press service of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic had reported earlier that Ukrainian security forces had encircled Sloviansk, using the air force, tanks, and other armored vehicles, and that the militiamen were sustaining heavy losses.