Military operation near Slavyansk according to ITAR-TASS
On May 5, in the area of Slavyansk, the armed forces of Ukraine resumed the punitive operation. Kyiv used aviation against the forces of the people’s militia. According to the press service of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, this was done in order to destroy the cars for transporting coal, which the militia allegedly tried to convert into an armored train. According to representatives of the militia, as a result of shelling, two civilians were killed, dozens of people were injured. As Alexander Maltsev, a spokesman for the proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, told ITAR-TASS earlier, a battle broke out between Ukrainian servicemen and militias on the Slavyansk-Donetsk highway near the village of Semyonovka. Four armored personnel carriers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine opened fire on checkpoints. According to the militia, about 20 civilians were injured in the Khimik district, located in the immediate vicinity of Semenovka.
Military operation near Slavyansk according to the Russian Foreign Ministry
Ukrainian security forces carried out a massive attack on Slavyansk. The most fierce battle took place on the outskirts of the city near the village of Semyonovka. The ultra-nationalists, who form the backbone of the National Guard of Ukraine, distinguished themselves with particular cruelty: they fired at residential buildings and without hesitation fired at unarmed people. More than 20 militiamen and civilians were killed, dozens were injured, the city’s hospitals are overcrowded.
Source: White Paper of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation (2nd edition)
