An armored personnel carrier on the road in Mariupol. Archival photoDONETSK, April 20 Five servicemen of the Donetsk People's Republic were killed in a day, another 14 were injured, the People's Militia of the DPR reports. republics died in the line of military duty and 14 were injured,» the People's Militia Telegram channel said. Russia launched a military operation in Ukraine on February 24. President Vladimir Putin called its goal «the protection of people who have been subjected to bullying and genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.» For this, according to him, it is planned to carry out «demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine», to bring to justice all war criminals responsible for «bloody crimes against civilians» in Donbass. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Armed Forces strike only at military infrastructure and Ukrainian troops and , on March 25, completed the main tasks of the first stage — significantly reduced the combat potential of Ukraine. The main goal in the Russian military department was called the liberation of Donbass.
