KIEV, September 10 (RIA Novosti) – Ukrainian prosecutors are looking into circumstances and decision-making that led to the loss of at least 200 servicemen outside the eastern Ukrainian town of Ilovaisk last month, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General said Wednesday.
When asked about death toll of the fighting, dubbed the “Ilovaisk Massacre” by the Ukrainian media, Prosecutor General Vitaliy Yarema replied that “at least 200 people” died when government forces were encircled by the militia.
“Prosecutors… are looking into [the event] and question military commanders who let this happen, in order to establish circumstances and reasons for numerous deaths of Ukrainian servicemen in the so-called encirclement near Ilovaisk,” he told reporters.
In late August, Ukrainian military suffered significant losses when Ukrainian battalions were encircled by militia outside Ilovaisk in Donetsk Region. Later as a result of an agreement, some Ukrainian servicemen left the encirclement.
Last week, Ukraine’s parliament established an investigative commission to conduct a probe into the events outside Ilovaisk.