You're reading: Ukrainian Security Service finds ‘Russian connection’ in killing of Horlivka city council deputy

 The Ukrainian Security Service has accused a group of people led by Igor Strelkov of involvement in the killing of Volodymyr Rybak, a deputy of the Horlivka city council (Batkivschyna faction). "The Ukrainian Security Service has found the so-called group Strelka, which is operating in the Donetsk region, and Russian citizen Igor Bezler to be involved in the killing of Volodymyr Rybak, a deputy of the Horlivka city council," Kateryna Kosaryeva, a press officer for the Ukrainian Security Service, told a briefing in Kyiv on April 23.

 The body of a man, who was later identified as Volodymyr Rybak, a deputy of the Horlivka city council, was found in Sloviansk on April 19. “The death was caused […] by a combination of bodily injuries caused by torture and subsequent drowning of the live victims, who were unconscious,” the Ukrainian Interior Ministry reported.

The Ukrainian Security Service has put Strelkov, whom the Kyiv authorities call a Russian citizens and a special task force officer, on the wanted persons list. A criminal case has been opened against him. He is suspected of masterminding a killing, committing actions harming the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and inviolability of Ukraine, sabotage activities, and enticing riots in the eastern regions of Ukraine.