USA TODAY: Ukraine launched Friday what appeared to be the first major assault against pro-Russian forces in the country’s east.
Three deaths were reported in early fighting, including a Ukrainian pilot and a serviceman who were killed when two helicopters were shot down near the city of Slovyansk, both sides said. One pro-Russian militant was killed and another injured in the fighting, said Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian militants…
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, said the offensive “effectively destroyed the last hope for the implementation of the Geneva agreements” that were intended to defuse the crisis… (more)
