In two years of the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine, 67 workers of Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service have deceased.
‘Most of our casualties took place in summer and autumn 2014, as Russian regular troops stepped up military action in eastern Ukraine. Many border guards were killed while trying to break the encirclement near Dovzhansky checkpoint (Luhansk region, eastern Ukraine, - 112 International). This day, August 9, marks the second anniversary of these events. Back then, ten border guards deceased, 35 were wounded, five more went missing’, Oleg Slobodyan, spokesman of the State Border Guard Service said in an interview with 112 Ukraine TV channel.
The official reminded that two years ago, Ukraine’s border guard units and checkpoints, located in Luhansk and Donetsk regions, were fiercely shelled, day by day. The enemy encircled a group of border guards and airborne troops who approached Dovzhansky checkpoint. The Ukrainian servicemen fought valiantly, but eventually were forced to retreat. Most of the artillery attacks were launched from the Russian territory. In early August, the defenders of Dovzhansky checkpoint broke through the enemy lines and joined the main forces of the Ukrainian troops in Donbas.