Lyudmyla Yeushanova, an officer from Georgia’s Ural Mountain regional branch of Ukraine’s Internal affairs Ministry, told local media the man had been hospitalized by a helicopter for “concussion” — not injuries to his head.

“He was lying on a stretcher,” he said. “It appears he only suffered minor injuries.”

Kiev, with Western condemnation, took credit for the attack late Friday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said early Saturday that “the Russian side can confirm that the Russian Interior Ministry and the SBU security service are conducting their work in the area in such a way as to ensure that attacks on our people are never repeated in what happened in Kharka on September 4.” The Russian news agency Interfax then said the “man” was a refugee.

Russia maintains its control over the area in western Ukraine. The separatists also hold government buildings in the town, which has seen clashes since May.

President Vladimir Putin spoke to Ukrainians on Saturday morning and pledged his support.

Russia, a vocal Assad foe

Russia’s relations with Mr. Assad, a Damascus representative of the Russian Orthodox Church, have never been warm. This is due in large part to Moscow’s backing for Syria’s rebels during the civil war.

Moscow has been wary of allowing Mr. Assad’s military support to become a platform for Assad loyalists to seize control of the country and push it into Russia.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev declared Sunday that Russian armed forces were withdrawing troops from Syria, although that statement was not public and not followed by a formal declaration that they had left. He also said Russia did not want the current conflict “to drag on for long.”

Mr. Putin’s spokeswoman said Moscow’s support for fighting the insurgency in Syria came from the “stark perspective” that it was against the “rejectionist tendencies” of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad.

She said the Assad regime saw that the conflict was “unacceptable” and a “violation of human rights.”

Meanwhile, Kiev and the West have imposed new sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine conflict after President Obama demanded “bold action” this weekend from Russia.

Speaking to reporters, Secretary of State John Kerry said Russia had to do something “quickly” to hold the Ukrainians responsible for their own actions in eastern Ukraine.

“We believe that what we’re seeing right now is the beginnings of a