MOSCOW. April 17 (Interfax) - Several civilians were injured when Ukrainian National Guard servicemen opened fire in the city of Kramatorsk on Wednesday evening, a spokesman for the Donetsk region's self-defense forces said.
"Servicemen of the National Guard from the armored personnel vehicles that were stopped by residents of Kramatorsk first assured them that they were not going to shoot. Afterwards, they apparently received some orders and started to fire at people's legs, after which they got back inside their armored vehicles and broke through the chain. As a result, several civilians sustained injuries to their legs," the activist told Interfax by phone on Thursday morning.
Several armored vehicles managed to break through the encirclement and move farther in the direction of the city's airfield, he said.
"Servicemen are currently building up their presence in the vicinity of the airfield," the activist said.
Ukrainian servicemen also opened fire in the city of Slovyansk on Wednesday evening, he said. No one was killed or injured there, and the soldiers retreated afterwards, he added.