KRAMATORSK, May 15. /ITAR-TASS/. Ukrainian military “simulated armed clashes” against a self-defense group on the outskirts of the city of Kramatorsk in the Donetsk region, a representative of voluntary guard of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic told ITAR-TASS on Thursday.

“A ten-vehicle-strong armored column under the cover of six helicopters entered the township of Solntsevo” and the entry was followed by brisk fire involving large-caliber automatic weapons,” he said.

The man who witnessed the events said “they were shooting at nowhere, in the sky and into the open field as there aren't any woods nearby.” Upon hearing the shooting, locals “took shelter in cellars.”

“There were no self-defense fighters in this area, to say nothing of bases,” he said.

The voluntary guard headquarters offered no comment on any casualties among their fighters as the result of armed clashes.

Ukraine’s parliament-appointed interim President, Verkhovna Rada Speaker Oleksandr Turchynov said on Thursday that last night the Ukrainian military forces “totally destroyed a disguised military base” of self-defense forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic near Kramatorsk. He also said “a fortified area around the town of Sloviansk” was cleared up and “a five-kilometer zone around the city’s television tower was mopped up.