Militants attempted to seize the police headquarters in Horlivka on 12 April, but were halted. Ukrayinska Pravda reported that police said that the purpose of the attempted seizure was to gain access to a weapons cache.[112] They said that they would use force if needed to defend the building from "criminals and terrorists".[113] By 14 April militants had captured the building after a tense standoff with the police.[92] Some members of the local police unit had defected to the Donetsk People's Republic earlier in the day, whilst the remaining officers were forced to retreat, allowing the insurgents to take control of the building.[114]
The local chief of police was captured and badly beaten by the insurgents.[115] A Horlivka city council deputy, Volodymyr Rybak, was kidnapped by masked men believed to be pro-Russian militants on 17 April. His body was later found in a river on 22 April.[116]
