Artillerymen of the People's Militia of the LPR firing at the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine from the 122-mm D-30 howitzer in the Lugansk regionLUGANSK, April 16 The people's militia of the Luhansk People's Republic reported that Ukrainian troops lost 22 people and equipment during the day during clashes with its units. equipment, namely: 22 personnel; 3 armored personnel carriers; 7 vehicles,» the People's Militia wrote in a Telegram message. points Donetsk, Pervomaisk and Zolote-5. As a result of shelling in Pervomaisk, 4 residential buildings and a hospital were damaged, and in the settlement of Zolote-5, two residential buildings and a kindergarten were damaged. 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.
