Firms seized in rebel-held east Ukraine as blockade tension mounts

An armed man stands guard during the visit of head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Alexander Zakharchenko (not pictured) to the Yuzovsky metallurgical plant in Donetsk, Ukraine, March 1, 2017. REUTERS/Alexander Ermochenko

KIEV/DONETSK, Ukraine (Reuters) - A leading telecoms firm and a humanitarian group owned by Ukraine's richest man said on Wednesday they had been forced to stop operating in territory controlled by Russia-backed separatists as their offices had been seized by armed men.

On Monday, separatist leaders warned they would take control of Ukraine-run businesses in rebel-held areas if the government in Kiev did not end a blockade by a group of Ukrainian lawmakers and veterans on rail traffic from separatist territory.