DONETSK. July 8 (Interfax) - Over 3,500 people have been killed since the start of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine, including 1,212 in 2015 alone, says Oleksandr Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).
"As many as 3,684 people have died in the conflict, including 523 women and 65 children; 1,212 of these people have been killed in 2015. More than 3,000 have gone missing over the time of the conflict," Zakharchenko told journalists on Wednesday.
Virtually 5,000 buildings have been destroyed over the period of fighting in the DPR, Zakharchenko said. "As many as 63 hospitals, 150 schools, 4,854 residential buildings, and 1,616 non-residential buildings, including plants, mines, and [other] industrial enterprises, have been destroyed," he said.