KIEV, June 11 (RIA Novosti) – At least 257 people were killed and over 1,300 injured during the punitive operations in Eastern Ukraine, the country’s Health Ministry reported Wednesday in a report based on data from urgent medical aid in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.
“There have been 220 people killed, including two minors in the Donetsk region since the start of the standoff. Over 1,200 people have asked for medical help, 150 are hospitalized, including a 14-year-old,” Donbas News (Novosti Donbasa) magazine said, quoting the report.
The ministry, however, did not specify whether the figures represent the self-defense forces, the military or civilians.
In the Luhansk region, 37 were killed, and another 137 were injured. Forty people remain hospitalized, including a child, according to the Health Ministry report.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ukrainian Health Ministry representatives said over 200 civilians were killed during the punitive operations including 15 women and two children.
Kiev’s authorities launched a military operation in mid-April to suppress independence supporters employing military hardware and aviation, but have so far failed to achieve any tangible results.
Ukraine underwent a Western-backed regime change in February. The country’s parliament ousted former President Viktor Yanukovych and changed the constitution. On May 25, the country held snap presidential election, won by tycoon Petro Poroshenko.
