"Bodies in NATO uniforms" found at Donetsk airport

"Bodies in NATO uniforms" found at Donetsk airport

DONETSK -- The Defense Ministry of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) says that "bodies in NATO uniforms" were found in the Donetsk airport ruins.

Spokesman Eduard Basurin also said that "a great number of U.S.-made weapons" was recovered from under the debris.

"While examining the building of the Donetsk airport, we found a great number of American firearms, assault rifles and hand mortars, equipment and communications devices. We also found publications in European languages, including on religious matters," Basurin said, according to TASS.

Apart from that, "we found dead bodies in NATO uniforms under the debris in the new terminal. Personal belongings indicated that these people were foreign citizens contracted by private military companies who operated under the disguise of Ukrainian subversive groups," he said.

The fighting around the airport was intensified lately, prompting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to order a new round of mobilizations.

However, Ukrainian troops on Thursday withdrew from the airport, where dozens of Ukrainian and pro-Russian fighters died during the past several weeks.