Shocking moment Ukrainian politician is mobbed by furious crowd hours before being abducted and 'tortured to death' by pro-Russian militia



Ukraine ends Easter truce after t wo bodies found near town of Slaviansk

One was Vladimir Rybak, a member of president's Batkivshchyna party

He and another man tortured and dumped in river to drown, say police

Ukraine vows to 'liquidate' pro-Kremlin forces in east of the country

Within hours, it said it had 'freed' the town of Sviatogorsk from militia



Russian responds by threatening to invade Ukraine if offensive goes ahead



U.S. journalist for Vice News captured by Pro-Russia militia in Slaviansk



Former Moscow foreign minister warns Ukraine is 'powder keg' which will explode with 'catastrophic consequences'



U.S. Vice President Joe Biden says Russia must act to defuse the unrest

Pentagon sends 600 troops to Poland and three Baltic states for exercises

WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT

This is the moment a Ukrainian politician is mobbed by a pro-Russian crowd before he was abducted and 'tortured to death' by masked militia.

Vladimir Rybak's body and that of another man were discovered near the rebel-held town of Slaviansk after they were reportedly dumped in a river to drown.

Their deaths have prompted an end to the Easter truce and a vow by the Ukrainian government to 'liquidate' the pro-Kremlin gunmen who have seized control of key buildings in the east.

Video footage released today shows Mr Rybak, a councillor in Horlivka, being manhandled by a hostile mob, including a masked man in camouflage, shortly before he was snatched.



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Flashpoint: Video has emerged showing Ukrainian councillor Vladimir Rybak (centre) being mobbed by a hostile, pro-Russian crowd before he was captured by masked militia and tortured to death

Mauled: Mr Rybak is manhandled by masked men after trying to remove the flag of the separatist Donetsk Republic outside the town hall of Horlivka where he was a councillor

Scuffle: Amid angry scenes outside the town hall, the councillor is manhandled by several people, among them a masked man in camouflage, while other people hurl abuse

No help: Two policemen appear in the video, though only one appears to intervene, albeit ineffectually

Mr Rybak had tried to remove the flag of the separatist Donetsk Republic.

'Over my dead body will you take down that flag,' one man in plain clothes yells at him as the politician tries to gain entry to the town hall.

Two uniformed policemen appear in the video, taken on Thursday and released on local news site gorlovka.ua, although only one appears to intervene, albeit ineffectually.

After several minutes, Mr Rybak appears able to walk away.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry said he was seen being bundled into a car by masked men in camouflage later that day.

Ukraine's acting president, who like Mr Rybak is a member of the Batkivshchyna party led by former premier Yulia Tymoshenko, cited the murder as grounds for relaunching the offensive against the militants.

Sorrow: A pro-Russia Ukrainian woman cries during the funeral of the three pro-Russia gunmen killed last Sunday at a checkpoint in Slaviansk. The tension has lasted several weeks in eastern Ukraine and led to deaths

Mourning: The mother of Sigarov Alexander, 24, reaches for his body at a church during the funeral for three people killed last Sunday in a shooting by unknown gunmen at a checkpoint, in Slaviansk

Grief: A pro-Russia Ukrainian woman places flowers on the body of Pavel Pavelco, 42, a pro Russia militiaman

Tributes: People lay flowers during the funeral ceremony of men killed on Easter Sunday Emotion: Mourners gather around the open caskets of the three men as they pay their respects Action: Pro-Russian militants have been manning roadblocks around Slovyansk and have taken control of government buildings in the city Oleksander Turchinov said Mr Rybak had been abducted by 'terrorists'. He said: 'These crimes are being carried out with the full support and indulgence of the Russian Federation. 'I call on the security agencies to relaunch and carry out effective anti-terrorist measures, with the aim of protecting Ukrainian citizens living in eastern Ukraine from terrorists.' In a rapid escalation of the rhetoric, Russia responded by threatening to invade at least one Ukrainian region if Kiev did halt its plan to take out the separatists.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov alluded to the Kremlin's seizure of the Georgian region of South Ossetia in 2008 to show what could happen in Ukraine. 'If we are attacked, we would certainly respond,' declared Lavrov on state-owned RT television channel. 'Russian citizens being attacked is an attack against the Russian Federation,' he declared. 'If our interests, our legitimate interests, the interests of Russians have been attacked directly, like they were in South Ossetia for example, I do not see any other way but to respond in accordance with international law.'

Combat mode: A masked pro-Russian separatist stands guard outside the security service building seized by the rebels in the eastern Ukrainian city of Slaviansk as Kiev declared it would 'liquidate' the insurgents Insurgency: Pro-Russian armed activists patrol near an armoured vehicle in front of the captured office of Security service of Ukraine in Slaviansk On guard: Pro-Kremlin rebels in Ukraine were braced for a renewed military offensive by Kiev as US troops headed to region in a show of force after Washington again warned Moscow over the escalating crisis Tensions: In a rapid escalation of the rhetoric, Russia responded by threatening to invade at least one Ukrainian region if Kiev did halt its plan to take out the separatists SET ASIDE DIFFERENCES WITH RUSSIA OVER UKRAINE TO FIGHT ISLAM, BLAIR TELLS WEST

Western leaders should set aside their differences with Russia over Ukraine to focus on the growing threat of Islamic extremism, former British prime minister Tony Blair said today. In a speech in London, the Middle East envoy said the spread of extremist ideology in that region as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan and North Africa 'represents the biggest threat to global security of the 21st century'.

He said: 'On this issue, whatever our other differences, we should be prepared to reach out and cooperate with the East, and in particular, Russia and China .' Blair said there was a shared interest between East and West on the dangers of religious extremism and it should be at the top of the global agenda. In 2008, Moscow sent its tanks into South Ossetia - then part of Georgia - on the pretext of protecting Russians, and later set up a government there which remains virtually unrecognised in the world.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon said it was sending about 600 soldiers to Poland and the three Baltic states for infantry exercises to reassure NATO allies about U.S. commitments to them following events in Ukraine. Kiev said it will renew its 'anti-terrorist operation' which began last week without scoring any major successes in dislodging the separatists. 'Security agencies are working to liquidate all the groups currently operating in Kramatorsk, Slaviansk and the other towns in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions,' said Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Vitaly Yarema today. Within hours of the announcement, Ukraine's Interior Ministry said it had flushed armed separatists out of the town of Sviatogorsk which was being controlled by armed militia. It said no one was injured in the operation. There have been no previous reports of gunmen in the town, which lies just outside the stronghold of pro-Russian militants in Slaviansk. 'During the anti-terrorism operation by special forces, the city was freed,' the ministry said in a statement posted on its website.

'Currently Sviatogorsk and its surroundings are being patrolled by police.'

Earlier, former Moscow foreign minister Igor Ivanov warned that Ukraine is a 'powder keg' which will explode with 'grave if not catastrophic consequences'.

Armed and ready: Kiev plans to renew its 'anti-terrorist operation' which began last week without scoring any major successes in dislodging the separatists On the look-out: A gunman stands guard behind a barricade outside the security service building in Slaviansk Kiev's first push failed last week to retake one of the towns in the mainly Russian-speaking east occupied by the separatists. Its military had also largely suspended operations since the United States, Russia, Ukraine and European Union signed a deal in Geneva last week intended to calm the crisis. But the agreement is already in trouble, with Washington and Moscow putting the onus on each other on Tuesday to ensure that it is implemented, including a stipulation that the rebels must disarm and leave the government buildings they have occupied. As funerals took place yesterday for three pro-Russian separatists killed in a gun battle in Slaviansk on Easter Sunday, militia said they were holding U.S. journalist Simon Ostrovsky, who has been filing video dispatches from eastern Ukraine, after snatching him in the town. Relaxed: An armed man in military fatigues affords a smile despite the impending renewal of the Ukrainian government's 'anti-terrorist operation' in the east of the country On patrol: The United States has repeatedly warned Russia it faces 'mounting costs' if it fails to ensure full implementation of the Geneva agreement to ease the crisis Stella Khorosheva, a spokeswoman for the pro-Russian insurgents in the eastern city of Slovyansk, confirmed Wednesday that Mr Ostrovsky, a journalist for Vice News, was being held at the local branch of the Ukrainian security service that they seized more than a week ago.

Khorosheva told The Associated Press Mr Ostrovsky is 'fine' and is 'suspected of bad activities' which she refused to explain.

She says the insurgents are holding Mr Ostrovsky pending their own investigation. In a statement, Vice News says it 'is in contact with the U.S. State Department and other appropriate government authorities to secure the safety and security of our friend and colleague.'

A Ukrainian military reconnaissance plane was also forced to make an emergency landing after being damaged by suspected militant gunfire over the city.

Mystery militia: Pro-Russian masked gunmen patrol a street in Slaviansk, where U.S. journalist Simon Ostrovsky, who has been filing video dispatches from eastern Ukraine, was snatched last week

Menacing: A masked pro-Russian separatist is seen in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine as acting president, Oleksander Turchinov called for government forces to relaunch an offensive against the rebels On brink of war: Kiev's first push against the rebels failed last week to retake one of the towns in the mainly Russian-speaking east occupied by the separatists

Armed and ready: Pro-russian militants keep watch outside the house of a fellow activist after his remains were brought to his home in the village of Aleksandrovka following a funeral service near Slovyansk in Ukraine Ukraine's poorly resourced forces had previously shown little sign of taking on the gunmen who started occupying towns and public buildings two weeks ago Ukraine's poorly resourced forces had previously shown little sign of taking on the gunmen who started occupying towns and public buildings two weeks ago.

Mr Turchinov's call may not lead to much more action but could fuel recriminations between Moscow and Kiev about who is failing to honour the deal. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden told Russia on Tuesday that 'time is short' for action on defusing the crisis, but Moscow refused to be rushed, saying it could handle any tougher economic sanctions the West might impose. Speaking on a visit to Kiev, Biden called on Moscow to pull back troops built up on Ukraine's borders and persuade the separatists to disarm. 'We've heard a lot from Russian officials in the past few days. But now it's time for Russia to stop talking and start acting,' he told a news conference.

Menacing: A masked gunman guards 'people's mayor' Vacheslav Ponomarev during a press conference in Slovyansk

On guard: Weapon in hand, the gunman is pictured alongside a local news reporter during the press conference

'We will not allow this to become an open-ended process. Time is short in which to make progress.'

The United States has repeatedly warned Russia it faces 'mounting costs' if it fails to ensure full implementation of the Geneva agreement.

A senior U.S. official said Secretary of State John Kerry told Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in a telephone call on Tuesday that Washington would impose further sanctions on Russia if tensions did not de-escalate in eastern Ukraine.

Kerry 'urged Russia to tone down escalatory rhetoric, engage diplomatically in the east with the OSCE and Ukrainian government, and issue public statements calling for those occupying buildings to disarm and stand down in exchange for amnesty,' the official said.

Unperturbed: Local people at the police station appear relaxed, despite the presence of the armed guards

The Foreign Ministry in Moscow said Lavrov told Kerry in the call that Ukraine itself should take urgent steps to implement the Geneva accord.

The Russian ambassador to the United Nations, Vitaly Churkin, ruled out rapid progress. 'Of course, it would be naive to suppose that all this could happen quickly,' Churkin said in an interview on Rossiya-24 television.

Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the eastern rebellion have deepened the worst East-West crisis since the Cold War, and Biden demanded the removal of Russian forces near Ukraine's frontier, which Moscow insists are merely on exercises.

'No nation should threaten its neighbours by amassing troops along the border. We call on Russia to pull these forces,' Biden said after meeting Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseny Yatseniuk.

The United States and NATO have made clear they will not intervene militarily in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member.

But the Pentagon said on Tuesday it was sending about 600 soldiers to Poland and the three Baltic states for infantry exercises, to reassure NATO allies about U.S. commitments to them following events in Ukraine.

Gunmen: More armed pro-Russia activists guard the entrance of a police building in Krematorsk

Moscow denies it is orchestrating the militants, who say they want the chance to join Crimea in becoming part of Russia following the overthrow of Moscow-backed President Viktor Yanukovich after months of street protests in Kiev.

But Washington has said it would decide 'in days' on additional sanctions if Russia does not take steps to implement the agreement.

In Moscow, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev promised the country could deal with tougher measures if necessary.

'We shan't give up on cooperation with foreign companies, including from Western countries, but we will be ready for unfriendly steps,' he told parliament.

'I am sure we can minimise their impact,' he said. 'We will not allow our citizens to become hostages of political games.'

So far the United States and EU have imposed visa bans and asset freezes on only a limited number of Russians over the annexation of Crimea last month.