Ukraine says Odessa unrest planned by and financed from abroad

KIEV, May 3 (Reuters) - Ukraine's security service said on Saturday illegal military groups from Moldova's breakaway region of Transdniestria and Russian groups worked together to foment unrest in the southern port city of Odessa.

"The unrest, which occurred on May 2 in Odessa and led to clashes and many casualties, was due to foreign interference," a spokeswoman for the SBU security service told a news conference.

She said former top officials, once part of ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovich's inner circle, had financed "saboteurs" to foment the unrest, blaming Serhiy Arbuzov and Oleksander Klymenko, who were now "hiding in a neighbouring country".

(Reporting by Natalia Zinets; Writing by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Louise Ireland)