Ukraine leader: Two 'brutally tortured' bodies found

Reuters

KIEV -- Acting Ukraine President Oleksander Turchinov called on government forces to relaunch an offensive against pro-Russian rebels yesterday after a local politician from his own party was found dead with signs of torture.

Kiev's first push failed last week to retake Slovyansk, a town in the mainly Russian-speaking east occupied by separatists. Its military has 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 blaming each other. Rebels have refused to disarm and leave government buildings they have occupied.

Turchinov said two "brutally tortured" bodies had been found near Slovyansk. One was that of Volodymyr Rybak, a member of Turchinov's Batkivshchyna party, who had recently been abducted by "terrorists," he said in a statement.

"These crimes are being carried out with the full support and indulgence of the Russian Federation," he said. "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."

Police said the body of a man who had suffered a violent death had been found in a river. It resembled Rybak, but formal identification would need further work, they said.

Ukraine's poorly equipped forces had previously shown little sign of taking on the gunmen who started occupying towns and public buildings two weeks ago.

Vice President Joe Biden told Russia yesterday that "time is short" for action on defusing the crisis. Moscow refused to be rushed, saying it could handle any tougher 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.

NATO and the United States have made clear they will not intervene militarily in Ukraine, which is not a NATO member. The Pentagon did say it was sending about 600 soldiers to Poland and the three Baltic states for infantry exercises.