Suspcious cable fire at Kiev TV station

KIEV - An overnight fire that damaged cables and cut power to Kiev's television centre raised suspicions among officials on Friday, with one suggesting on her Facebook page it could have been Russian "sabotage".

However the head of the regional administration for Kiev, Volodymyr Bondarenko, said the blaze was most likely started by a short-circuit.

"This is not an act of sabotage," he said, but added that an investigation had been opened.

Viktoria Syumar, the deputy secretary for Ukraine's national security and defence council, said the opposite on her Facebook page.

She said "initial information" suggested someone had thrown a Molotov cocktail on the underground cables.

"Only a professional would know where these cables are," she declared, calling it "a classic act of sabotage".

She also said it was "the logic of Russian intelligence services following Leninist doctrine" to attack strategic communications posts.

The fire was quickly brought under control and the television centre was operating with power supplied by generators.