Top Ukrainian Rebel Leader Injured In Car Attack By Gunmen

Pavel Gubarev,  a top official of the pro-Russian rebels in eastern Ukraine,  was injured in a car crash after gunmen shot at his vehicle.

The Russian Tass news agency reports that he did not suffer any gun wounds but was injured when his car crashed into a pillar. He is being treated at a  hospital in Rostov in  Russia. He was on his way from Donetsk in east Ukraine to Rostov when his car was attacked, reports the BBC.

Gubarev was the leader of the rebels who occupied the administrative building in Donetsk in February. The rebels later formed the Donetsk People's Republic with Gubarev as governor.

It is yet not clear who shot at his car and details of his injury are still sketchy.

It is believed that Gubarev was going to make "a very important statement," according to his Facebook posting, reports UPI. Gubarev's People's Republic Party is undergoing a power struggle, according to media reports.

Last week his party was disqualified from participation in the "People's Republic of Donetsk" presidential elections, reports UPI.

A cease fire has been declared between the rebels and the Ukrainian army in the border area with Russia since Sept. 5 but the peace has been uneasy with sporadic intense battles still breaking out.

Later this week, President Petro Poroshenko is scheduled to meet the Russian President Vladimir Putin in Milan to discuss the issue.

Russia on its part has declared that it will withdraw troops stationed along the border with eastern Ukraine. It has been facing criticism and sanctions for supporting the rebels in their fight to secede, which it denies.