The Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) spokesman Eduard Basurin stated in a televised interview on Friday that DPR troops took down two out of three Ukrainian helicopters that attempted to escape the Mariupol area to Kiev-controlled territory.
"It was a military special operation - there was a decision to completely trace the route and shoot down not empty planes, but planes with people who will be taken out of there. When they tried to fly out of Mariupol, one and the second were shot down by the Stinger," Basurin explained.
Yesterday, the DPR chief Denis Pushilin issued an official decree to form the local administration and leadership staff in Mariupol.
