A serviceman demonstrates fragments of ammunition in the courtyard of a multi-storey residential building in Donetsk. Archival photoDONETSK, May 20. Twenty-seven servicemen of the Donetsk People's Republic died in the line of duty in the past week, 120 were injured, the Republic's People's Militia reported. independence 27 defenders of the Donetsk People's Republic died in the line of duty and 120 were injured,» the official representative of the People's Militia said in a statement. fired at Krutaya Balka in the DNRRussia 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 Kyiv 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.
