Ukraine rebel region's security chief says he is new leader
The security minister of Ukraine's pro-Russian rebel region of Luhansk said on Friday he was taking over power from regional chief Igor Plotnitsky, who days earlier had said he was facing an attempted armed coup to force him out.
In a video posted on a rebel news portal in Luhansk, the security minister, Leonid Pasechnik, said he was taking over after Plotnitsky resigned for health reasons. But there was no immediate word from Plotnitsky himself.
Luhansk and the neighbouring Donetsk region rebelled against rule from Kiev in 2014 and declared themselves independent.
