Donetsk (Ukraine) (AFP) - The main military commander of pro-Russian rebels battling government forces in east Ukraine, Igor Strelkov, quit his post Thursday, the separatist leadership said.

The insurgent authorities "approved the resignation" of Strelkov, who is Russian, from his post as defence minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic "in connection with his transfer to another job," the rebels said in a statement on their website.