Ukraine separatists destroy plane, armored vehicles in Lugansk

Separatists in eastern Ukraine Tuesday announced the destruction of one aircraft and seven armored vehicles in the suburbs of Lugansk.
A report by INTERFAX news agency quoted separatist leaders saying they had succeeded in destroying the Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft and seven armored vehicles in the Lugansk airport area.
The Ukrainian news agency meanwhile said unknown militants had last night destroyed a motor bridge in the suburbs of Donetsk as well as a railroad line in an attempt to hamper Ukrainian armed forces' movements. The agency quoted a spokesman for the separatists saying they would not stop at defensive measures at Donetsk and Lugansk but would launch counter-offensive operations.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had recently removed Counterterrorism Center of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and SBU First Deputy Chief Vasyl Krutov from office and appointed Vasyl Hrytsak to coordinate military operations.
The Ukrainian forces had recently regained control over the cities of Kramatorsk and Slavyansk and Interior Minister Arsen Avakov had declared Donetsk and Lugansk would be separatist-free within two days.
The Ukrainian news agency also reported that Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin and visiting Italian counterpart Federica Mogherini discussed means to address the crisis in eastern Ukraine and to bolster cooperation between the two nations.
The Italian FM had, last night, held talks with Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk which focused on expanding partnership between Ukraine and the European Union, the crisis in Ukraine, and bilateral cooperation in the field of energy and power.