Ukraine Army 'in Control' of Donetsk Airport
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Ukraine says it has recaptured the airport in the eastern city of Donetsk after a day of air strikes and fierce gun battles with pro-Moscow separatists that left at least 48 people, including two civilians, dead.
"The airport is under our full control. The enemy suffered heavy losses. We have none," Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said in a statement on Tuesday.
He said, however, that the military was continuing its operation at the airport and AFP journalists reported hearing sporadic gunfire and explosions during the day.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, the Ukrainian State Aviation Service has said the airport will stay closed until the evening of May 28.
The Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) also reported that it had lost contact with a four-member observer team based in the restive city since Monday evening.
The battle for the main transport hub in Ukraine's industrial heartland erupted on Monday just hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed to take a tough stand against the "terrorists".
Russian President Vladimir Putin immediately called on Ukraine to end its "punitive" operation in the rebel-held east and for talks between Kiev and the pro-Russian separatists.
The bodies of 30 pro-Russian rebels have been brought to a hospital, according to separatist sources.
A rebel fighter told the AP that a lorry carrying the bodies was still parked outside the hospital, waiting for explosives experts to check it for any unexploded ordnance.
