Attack on convoy near Novosvetlovaka

On the morning of August 18, 2014, two military trucks evacuating civilians came under fire by mortars or rockets, killing "dozens," or an unknown final number of at least 17. This occurred near the town of Novosvetlovaka, a suburb of Lugansk the civilians had lived in. The Ukrainian military had just taken the area, arranged the evacuation in military trucks with white flags, and blamed "terrorists" (separatists or allies) for the deliberate murder of the evacuees. Separatist sources allege (or speculate) that foreign mercenaries on Kiev's side did it instead, to further demonize their enemies.