Hundreds of armed men in military fatigues without insignia blocked access to government buildings in Lugansk.(AFP Photo/Aleksey FILIPPOV)
A coup striked the so-called Lugansk People's Republic in eastern Ukraine, RIA Novosti reported on November 22.
On Tuesday, hundreds of armed men in military fatigues without insignia blocked access to government buildings in what one of the soldiers described as military drills ordered by the Lugansk interior ministry, AFP reported.
The blockade remained in place throughout Wednesday. About 10 military trucks and a grenade launcher were seen driving around the city, AFP reported.
Igor Plotnitsky, the self-proclaimed leader of the government, on Wednesday accused an ex-minister of masterminding a coup attempt.
"Kornet was removed from his post but apparently the little man has great ambitions," Plotnitsky told journalists during a news conference on Wednesday.
He accused Kornet of being behind an "armed attempt to seize power" in Lugansk and added that his supporters had detained several employees of the local prosecutor's office.