DONETSK, July 30. /ITAR-TASS/. Separatist militias in fighting with Ukrainian government troops near the city of Shakhtyorsk in the country’s east have put out of action 125 armored vehicles of the Ukrainian army, said Deputy Defense Minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) Fyodor Berezin.

“The enemy has lost a total of 125 armored vehicles in Shakhtyorsk yesterday, including tanks, infantry combat vehicles, armored personnel carriers,” the DPR official was quoted by the Novorossia news agency.

Representatives of the Ukrainian armed forces have not commented on these reports so far.

On Wednesday morning, a militia unit was fighting government troops to seize the outskirts of Shakhtyorsk, representatives of DPR armed forces said. Ukrainian government artillery had responded by setting an ammunition depot in the city on fire, the agency added.

Separatist sources claimed success already in their advance. “Militia fighters have taken control of Shakhtyorsk, and the National Guard, with armored vehicles, is hiding in thick foliage,” DPR representatives said, adding they had put a tank, an artillery system and a truck out of action.

One eyewitness report spoke of casualties among militia fighters.