70 Russian paratroopers killed in battle near Debaltseve - report by Nemtsov

KYIV, May 12 /Ukrinform/. Seventy Russian paratroopers, at least 17 of them being the residents of Ivanovo town, were killed in the battle near Debaltseve, Donetsk region, in January-February 2015.

This is stated in the report "Putin. The War" prepared by friends of killed Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov on the basis of materials collected by him, Ukrayinska Pravda Ukrainian online newspaper reports.

The report says that at that time the soldiers, who were sent to Donbas, were dismissed from the armed forces and were posed as volunteers. The Defense Ministry of the Russian Federation promised to pay compensation for the killed and the wounded, despite the dismissal. However, according to the report, the promise was not fulfilled.

The report also indicated that about 53 billion rubles had been spent from the Russian budget on the war in the south-east of Ukraine for ten months.

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