Ukraine conflict: Separatists trained in Russia, claims new rebel leader

The new pro-Russia rebel leader in Eastern Ukraine has reportedly revealed that almost 1,200 separatists had undergone military training in Russia for four months.

Alexander Zakharchenko, said while addressing a meeting that the rebels in the Donetsk region had 150 combat vehicles that includes tanks, reported the BBC.

Russia however, has maintained that it has not provided any military assistance to the pro-Russia rebels across the border.

About 2,000 civilians and combatants have been killed since the Ukrainian government launched a military operation in April to quell the pro-Russia uprising in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.