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Bomb Blast Kills 2 At Pro-Kiev Rally In Eastern Ukraine

A man holds a Ukrainian flag as he cover the body of a victim of an explosion in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.
Andriy Marienko AP
A man holds a Ukrainian flag as he cover the body of a victim of an explosion in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on Sunday.

A bomb blast at a rally in eastern Ukraine has killed two people on the first anniversary of the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych, an event that helped trigger Russia's annexation of Crimea and a separatist uprising.

Ukraine's Interior Ministry described the blast at a pro-Kiev rally in Kharkiv as an act of terrorism and said it had been caused by a bomb. It said a police officer was among the dead and that about a dozen other people were wounded.

The Associated Press quotes a spokesman for the national security service as saying that four suspects were arrested in connection with the bombing.

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The BBC says the rally in Kharkhiv was one of several being held to mark to mark the ouster of Moscow-leaning Yanukovych.

The AP writes:

"The violence in Kharkiv comes as Ukraine continues to be riven by tension and bloodshed stemming from Yanukovych's fall. "A peace plan envisioning a cease-fire and pullback of heavy weapons was signed Feb. 12."

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