Ukraine crisis: Deadly bomb blast hits rally in Kharkiv

A bomb has killed at least three people and injured 10 at a patriotic rally in Ukraine’s second city, Kharkiv, in what police suspect was a terror attack.

The device exploded at 13:20 (11:20 GMT) as people gathered near the city’s Palace of Sport for a march in support of national unity, Ukrainian media say.

At least one police officer was killed, the interior ministry says.

Kharkiv lies outside the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine, where a ceasefire appears finally to be taking hold.

The government and rebels there have agreed to start pulling back heavy weapons from the frontline, with the actual withdrawal expected to get under way on Tuesday.

The process will not be completed until at least 8 March, five days later than the deadline set at peace talks in Minsk this month.

Another key element of the Minsk deal moved forward on Saturday when the Ukrainian government and the rebels exchanged 191 prisoners.

Analysis: David Stern, BBC News, Kiev

The blast took place during a march to mark the one-year anniversary of clashes in the capital Kiev, which left more than 100 people dead and drove the then president, Viktor Yanukovych, from power. Petro Poroshenko, the present president, and a number of European leaders attended the main march in Kiev.

The explosion follows other blasts in Kharkiv and elsewhere in Ukraine. Kharkiv lies outside the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine but there have been concerns that Russian-backed separatists could target it as well.

In Kiev, the main march went peacefully. President Poroshenko and European leaders led a procession of thousands around the main locations where protesters fought riot police one year ago.

An unnamed regional prosecutor quoted by Reuters news agency said an explosive device had apparently been thrown from a car in Kharkiv.

A photo apparently taken at the scene shows a body draped in a Ukrainian flag as ambulances stand nearby.

Another image shows people gathering around an injured person.

Before Sunday’s explosion, Kharkiv, in the north-east of Ukraine, had seen more than a dozen attacks over three months, including an explosion in a bar used by pro-government activists which injured more than 10 people in November.

That attack was blamed on a pro-Russian group calling itself the Kharkiv Partisans.

BBC