According to Ukrainian officials, the clashes broke out on Wednesday when pro-Russian activists in Luhansk attempted to seize a military unit in the flashpoint region.

Ukraine’s National Guard forces said there have been several losses among their ranks. The forces also reported several deaths and injuries among pro-Russian activists involved in the fighting. “There have been losses both in the ranks of the military unit and the attacking side,” the National Guard said in a brief statement.

The fighting came as dozens of people were killed in another operation by the Ukrainian security forces against pro-Russian protesters in eastern city of Donetsk.

Russia condemned the “provocative” actions of Ukrainian troops against pro-Russian protesters. “There can be no justification for the punitive operation being conducted by the Kiev authorities,” Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said.

The acting government in Kiev has been conducting military operations in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine since mid-April in a bid to root out the pro-Moscow protests.

On May 12, Donetsk and Luhansk declared independence following local referendums in which the regions’ residents voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence from Kiev.

The referendums followed a similar vote in Crimea in March that led to the reunification of the peninsula with the Russian Federation. Nearly 97 percent of participants in Crimea’s referendum voted for rejoining Russia.

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/05/28/364584/several-killed-in-eastern-ukraine-clashes/