Police officers are among the two dead and 15 wounded after an explosion during a peaceful protest in the eastern city of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said Sunday.
Four people belonging to a group that received training in Belgorod, Russia, have been arrested, Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov of Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council said on his website. A gun was also confiscated.
Though there were reports that someone threw an explosive device from a vehicle, the blast appeared to be caused by a remote-controlled device, Turchynov’s statement said.
Footage from the rally shows an estimated 500 people marching through a Kharkiv street, many hoisting Ukrainian flags, when the explosion sends rally participants and onlookers scurrying for cover.
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A ceasefire that went into effect February 15 remains in doubt, as a separatist offensive to take the key strategic town of Debaltseve ended only Wednesday when rebels took over the town. Shelling also picked up last week in the city of Donetsk and clashes have been reported around the southern port city of Mariupol.
Ukraine’s National Defense and Security Council said Friday there had been 300 instances in which the latest truce was violated, and the news agency Ukrinform published a map Saturday showing how the eastern portion of the country is still racked by violence.
The ceasefire agreement — signed February 12 in Minsk, Belarus, among the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany — aimed to curb this violence. It is supposed to be followed by the withdrawal of heavy weaponry to create a buffer zone, the release of prisoners and steps toward new elections.
Journalist Victoria Butenko in Kiev and CNN’s Laura Smith-Spark and Lindsay Isaac contributed to this report.
