Ruling Party Politician Found Slain in East Ukraine

Rybak Was Captured Last Week, Signs of Torture on Body

Ukraine’s interim government is up in arms again today after reports that the body of a kidnapped politician from the new interim ruling party was found on the outskirts of the eastern protester city of Slovyansk.

The politician, identified by officials as Volodymyr Rybak (apparently no relation to top Party of Regions MP of the same name), went missing last week and was reportedly captured by protesters in the nearby town of Horlivka. Interim President Turchinov reported the body was “brutally tortured.”

Turchinov reported two bodies were recovered, though Ukrainian police only mentioned the one, believed to be Rybak, and there was no indication who the other person was, or where they were found.

Details were scant in the official police statement, and they wouldn’t even officially identify the person beyond saying they looked like Rybak, and said the process of formal identification would take some time.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.