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Photo Ukrinform/UATV
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that artillery shelling near the village of Novoluhanske in the Donetsk region and other settlements on Friday, in which two Ukrainian soldiers were killed and eight more were wounded, shows that Russia has lost control over its mercenaries.
There’ve been more casualties today.
“The blatant violation of the Minsk agreements – the use of artillery – demonstrates, at least, the partial loss of control over mercenaries. We are hopeful the Russian side will regain control over these units,” the president said.
Zelenskyi also expressed his condolences to the families of the deceased and thanked them for their courage and resilience. He said that at the diplomatic level, Ukraine will continue to insist on the ceasefire and the release of captives.
“The shelling of the Ukrainian military is an obvious attempt to once again undermine the process of negotiations on the ceasefire. Whoever gave the orders – Ukraine’s Armed Forces will respond rigorously and according to the situation. And at the diplomatic level, our position on the necessity to cease fire and release the captives will remain firm and immutable,” the president said.
As was reported earlier, two Ukrainian servicemen were killed and eight more were wounded when Russian-backed forces attacked Ukrainian positions near the village of Novoluhanske early on June 7. The Ukrainian Joint Forces returned fire in response to the enemy’s shooting.
