MOSCOW, June 4 (RIA Novosti) - Secretary General of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) Nikolai Bordyuzha has urged for an immediate stop to the military operation in southeastern Ukraine, citing the recent bloodshed in Luhansk.
“We urge to immediately halt the military actions in southeastern Ukraine, as well as to create the conditions for the humanitarian assistance to the civilians in Donbass,” Bordyuzha said Wednesday.
“The UN and the OSCE must activate their efforts in order to ensure a peaceful solution for the contradictions that led to a cruel struggle,” Bordyuzha said.
On Monday, Ukrainian military launched two air strikes against the city of Luhansk in Ukraine’s easternmost region. The first attack targeted an administration building in the center of the city, while the second hit a roadblock on the outskirts of Luhansk.
Authorities of the Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR), a self-proclaimed autonomy, claimed Ukrainian attack helicopter fired illegal cluster bombs.
A total of 13 people were reported dead as a result of the airstrike and a border skirmish that lasted throughout Monday. Eight members of the Ukrainian special forces were injured, according to the national State Border Guard Service.
The attacks came as part of a special operation launched by Ukraine’s government to crack down on independence supporters in mid-April. The state authorities failed to gain control over the self-proclaimed independent republics.
Moscow has repeatedly condemned the new Kiev authorities for what it called "a punitive operation" and stressed the need for de-escalation of the Ukrainian crisis.
