FILE PHOTO: Igor Plotnitsky (R), leader of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic, salutes during the Victory Day military parade in the rebel-held city of Luhansk, Ukraine May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko/File Photo
Reuters: Ukraine rebel leader accuses sacked ally of staging revolt
MOSCOW/KIEV (Reuters) - Armed men in masks blocked off the center of Ukraine’s rebel-controlled city of Luhansk on Tuesday in what the rebel leader said was a revolt by supporters of a sacked regional police chief.
In fighting that broke out in 2014, Russian-backed rebels threw off rule by a new pro-Western leadership in Kiev and set up two self-proclaimed separatist statelets in eastern Ukraine, one centered on Luhansk and another around the city of Donetsk.
Those separatist regions are aided by Moscow but not recognized by any state, and they have been dogged by outbreaks of internal tensions that have on occasion turned violent.
The Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, which monitors the implementation of a much-violated ceasefire agreement with Ukraine, said on Tuesday it had observed military-style vehicles and armed men in central Luhansk.
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More News On Reports Of A Power Struggle In Rebel Held Ukraine
Power struggle shakes breakaway republic in eastern Ukraine as armed men seize Luhansk -- The Telegraph
Masked, Gun-Toting Troops Hit Streets Of Ukraine's Separatist-Held Luhansk -- Radio Free Europe
Ukraine rebel leader accuses sacked ally of staging revolt -- Euronews
Rebel infighting sparks fears in east Ukraine -- Digital Journal
Lugansk: interior minister announces exposure of plot in the republic -- Eurasia Daily