KYIV. May 27 (Interfax) - The losses of the National Guard amounted to up to five people throughout the entire forceful operation in southeastern Ukraine, the Interior Ministry said.
"There are losses and injured among National Guard servicemen. The number of those killed can be counted on one hand - up to five people," Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Chebotar said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
According to the information of Interfax, Ukrainian armed forces lost 27 servicemen during the forceful operation in the southeast.
Twenty four servicemen of the Interior Ministry, interior troops and Alfa special purpose unit have died, Ukrainian Security Service Head Valentyn Nalyvaychenko said on May 19.
Seventeen Ukrainian servicemen and four Donbass battalion servicemen died in fights outside Volnovakha in the Donetsk region on May 23.
One more National Guard battalion has been sent to the southeast, Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovoy said at a briefing on Tuesday. "One battalion is already in the counter-terrorism operation area and the second battalion, which is equipped and has undergone relevant training, is moving to the counter-terrorism operation area today," he said.
The third National Guard battalion is almost completed, Yarovoy said. "These are people, who expressed wishes to help the state during this time" and "all kinds of people, aged between 18 and 55," joined the subdivision, he said.