MOSCOW, June 5./TASS/. Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic Alexander Zakharchenko told reporters on Friday that Ukrainian troops suffered major casualties in fights at the town of Maryinka on June 3.

"According to our estimates, about 400 Ukrainian troops were killed and up to 1,000 were wounded," the Donetsk News Agency quoted him as saying.

Active fighting between the Ukrainian army and the militia forces took place near the town of Maryinka, eastern Ukraine, on Wednesday.