Ukrainian President: Recapturing Slavyansk is a "turning point"

According to Mr. Poroshenko, it is still too early to celebrate but the recapture of Slavyansk is extremely important.

On July 5, in a statement, Ukrainian President Poroshenko called the government troops' recapture of the city of Slavyansk "a turning point" in the country's fight against federalization forces.

Ukrainian soldiers near a checkpoint in Slavyansk (Photo: Getty)

Speaking on national television, Mr Poroshenko said: "Today, the armed forces and the national guard of Ukraine liberated Slavyansk from the hands of terrorists. The country's flag is once again flying over the city buildings."

“This is not a full victory and there are no fireworks to celebrate. But the recapture of Slavyansk is important. It is a turning point in the fight against armed militants to regain the country’s territorial integrity,” Poroshenko added.

Earlier, on the afternoon of July 5, Russian news agency Ria Novosti reported that Ukrainian government troops were tightening the siege around Slavyansk to block the city's connection with other regions.

However, the Slavyansk militia broke through the dense siege of government forces in this city and fled to the city of Kramatorsk./.

According to VOV