Ukraine: Donetsk airport falls into hands of pro-Russia separatists
Ukrainian officials said Thursday that their forces have retreated from the main portion of the airport at Donetsk, a key turning point in an eight-month battle with Russian separatist forces that has turned the facility into a hulk of twisted metal and shattered glass.
“Taking into account the danger and in order to save lives, … it was decided yesterday to move out of the terminal’s territory and to the new lines,” Vladyslav Seleznyov, spokesman for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, said at a briefing.
The airport, strategically located on a hilltop about six miles outside of the city of Donetsk, has been the scene of fierce fighting for months as Ukrainian forces battled Russia-backed separatists for what both sides regard as a key symbol for control of the contested region of eastern Ukraine.