Ukraine conflict: Rebel leader Givi dies in bomb attack

Givi was one of the best-known faces among the separatists

A prominent separatist commander has been killed in eastern Ukraine, four days after another pro-Russian military leader was blown up by a car bomb.

Mikhail Tolstykh, known as Givi, died in his office in an explosion described by rebel authorities in Donetsk as a terrorist attack. Eastern Ukraine has seen its bloodiest period of clashes since 2015, with at least 35 deaths in little over a week.


Rebels have blamed Ukraine's security services for both bomb attacks. Oleg Anashschenko, who was de facto defence minister of the self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), had been driving in Luhansk when his car blew up on Saturday.