You're reading: 241 Ukrainian troops, volunteers killed in battle of Ilovaisk

Ukraine's prosecutor general has said 241 Ukrainian troops and volunteers were killed in the battle of Ilovaisk, which took place in late August and has been one of the bloodiest battles of the eastern Ukrainian conflict.

“The military prosecution service is conducting several cases of criminal proceedings in connection with mass human deaths. Including during the anti-terrorist operation. We have officially established that in the Ilovaisk tragedy, or the Ilovaisk trap, 241 Ukrainian patriots were killed,” Vitaliy Yarema told the Ukrainska Pravda newspaper.

“I know that both the interior minister and the defense minister have testified [in the Battle of Ilovaisk case]. I’m not prepared to answer how far the investigation has progressed or what assessments the investigator has made of various officials – that is secret information,” he said.

The battle broke out near of Ilovaisk, which lies in the Donetsk region, after militant forces encircled the Ukrainian army, Interior Ministry and volunteer forces, many of whose members were killed or taken prisoner.

An ad hoc commission set up by parliament to investigate the battle released a report on Oct. 20 that blamed the tragedy on alleged poor choice of commanders, on the performance of Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Viktor Muzhenko and then defense minister Valeriy Heletei, and on the fact that President Petro Poroshenko had not declared martial law.

Yarema said military prosecutors were also looking into a battle near Volnovakha where 18 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, a battle near Zelenopillia, and the downing of an Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft.