Image copyright Reuters Image caption Alexander Zakharchenko in a 2017 photo

A leader of Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko, has been killed in an explosion at a cafe in Donetsk city.

"The head of the DNR [Donetsk People's Republic]... has died as the result of a terrorist attack," Zakharchenko's spokeswoman told AFP news agency.

Russia's foreign ministry said it suspected Ukraine of organising the latest killing.

The Ukrainian government has denied any involvement.

Some observers have attributed previous deaths of rebel leaders in Donetsk to infighting among the rebels, or moves by Moscow to eliminate inconvenient separatist leaders.

What are the two sides saying?

Rebel and Russian news reports say the separatists' "finance minister" Alexander Timofeyev was wounded in the blast at the Separ cafe that killed Zakharchenko.

Ukrainians suspected of being behind the blast were arrested nearby, a security source was quoted as saying.

Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said "there is every reason to believe that the Kiev regime is behind the murder".

She said the Kiev "party of war" was "violating its pledges about peace and has decided on a bloodbath".

However, recent reports suggested that Zakharchenko had fallen out of favour with Russia.

A spokeswoman for Ukraine's state security service, Yelena Gitlyanskaya, rejected Moscow's accusations.

She said the killing was a result of "internal fighting... between the terrorists and their Russian sponsors".

What is happening in eastern Ukraine?

Heavily armed rebels in Donetsk and Luhansk regions refuse to recognise the Ukrainian government in Kiev.

The rebels seized large swathes of territory there in an uprising in April 2014. Since then, thousands of people have died in fighting between the rebels and Ukrainian government forces.

Moscow denies sending regular troops and heavy weapons to the separatists, but admits that Russian "volunteers" are helping the rebels.

The frontline between them and Ukrainian government troops has remained largely static for months, but skirmishes continue despite a fragile ceasefire deal.

There has been shooting on the frontline despite a "back-to-school truce" that was supposed to take effect on Wednesday. International monitors reported 70 ceasefire violations on that day alone.

Who was Alexander Zakharchenko?

He played a key role in the Russian-backed separatist military operation from its very beginning.

In early 2014, soon after Ukraine's pro-Russian government was toppled by the Maidan revolution, he took part in the seizure of the Donetsk regional administration building by people saying they were protesting against the new pro-Western authorities.

Later that year, he was chosen as the prime minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic by its parliament, the "Supreme Council".

He had been in the role ever since, assuming the title of president, and was among the signatories of the stalled Minsk peace agreement.

He was wounded twice in combat, and survived a car bomb blast in August 2014.

Who else has been assassinated in Donetsk?</s>The area around the cafe is still cordoned off.

The residents of Russia's Crimea are also honoring Zakharchenko's memory by laying flowers next to his portraits in Simferopol's central square, where around 300 people have gathered for a ceremony to mourn his passing.

A memorial service was also held in the capital of another self-proclaimed republic, the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR). The service was attended by the LPR's acting head, Leonid Pasechnik, the republic's Foreign Affairs Minister, Vladislav Deinego, and a number of other ministers and senior officials.

READ MORE: Life and Death of Assassinated DPR Head Alexander Zakharchenko

Pasechnik said that he would not step down despite Zakharchenko's assassination and would fight until the end for the Donbass region.

"I am not afraid [to act as the LPR's head] because I have made my choice. There is no going back, only forward. We will fight to the end, to the last drop of our blood for our 'Russian world,' for our Donbass," Pasechnik told journalists.

Deinego, in turn, noted that the two republics would remain committed to the Minsk agreements.

"There is no room for changes here. He made the arrangements, not as Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko, he signed the document [the Minsk agreements] on the part of the republic," Deinego said adding that the agreements were the only existing peaceful means to settle the conflict.

Earlier in the day, acting head of DPR Dmitry Trapeznikov vowed to implement all the promises made by Zakharchenko. Trapeznikov was later presented to DPR lawmakers at an emergency meeting of the republic's parliament. Lawmakers commemorated Zakharchenko with a moment of silence.

DPR Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Timofeev, who accompanied Zakharchenko to the cafe, sustained severe injuries as a result of the explosion. He is currently in a hospital in a moderately severe condition. According to the DPR Emergencies Ministry, two people were killed and 11 others were injured due to the blast.

READ MORE: US May Have Taken Part in Zakharchenko Assassination — DPR Official

The Russian Foreign Ministry and DPR officials said that the Ukrainian authorities had orchestrated the assassination, however, the Ukrainian Security Service has said it was not involved in the murder.

On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed condolences over the death of Zakharchenko. The Russian president stated he hoped that the organizers and perpetrators of the attack would be found and punished. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the DPR leader's assassination was a provocation aimed at hindering implementation of the Minsk agreements to settle the conflict in Donbass.

The DPR and the LPR have been involved in an armed conflict with Kiev since 2014 when Donbass refused to recognize the legitimacy of the new government that came to power after then-president Viktor Yanukovych was ousted. In February 2015, the sides signed the Minsk peace agreements, however, both parties have repeatedly accused each other of ceasefire violations.</s>Alexander Zakharchenko, head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, is killed in a bombing at a cafe in Donetsk, becoming the 4-year conflict's most prominent victim from the Moscow-backed side

MOSCOW, Russia – The murder of east Ukraine's main separatist leader is a provocation that will undermine a Western-brokered peace agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman said on Saturday, September 1.

"This is no doubt a provocation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Russian news agencies reported.

"(Alexander) Zakharchenko's death will certainly lead to increased tensions in the region" and undermine the so-called Minsk agreements brokered by France and Germany in 2015.

The 42-year-old head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic was killed in a bombing at a cafe in the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk on Friday, becoming the four-year conflict's most prominent victim from the Moscow-backed side.

Other Russian officials were also quick to stress that Zakharchenko's assassination was a huge blow to efforts to settle the Ukraine crisis.

"What happened today puts a big question mark over the entire process," Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in televised remarks late Friday.

Putin swiftly sent condolences on Friday, saying he expected to see the killers brought to justice.

In a letter published on the Kremlin website, Putin has praised Zakharchenko as "a true people's leader, a brave and resolute man".

Peskov said on Saturday that Putin had no current plans to meet the acting head of the self-proclaimed republic.

Zakharchenko – who briefly worked as a mine electrician before going into business connected to the industry – had led Russian-backed insurgents in the rebel region for the last 4 years. – Rappler.com</s>According to Deputy Defense Minister and defense spokesman of Donetsk People's Republic Eduard Basurin, the US could have taken part in the assassination of the Donetsk People's Republic head Zakharchenko.According to Eduard Basurin, Zakharchenko's murder took place "under the regulation by the United States."The commander of the Donetsk Operational Command stated, speaking on a Russian television channel, thatHe even addressed the Ukrainian authorities and Petro Poroshenko in particular, saying they could do nothing about it."We are standing on guard of our republic's borders," he stated, adding that the Donetsk authorities are in full control of the situation in the people's republic after Zakharchenko's assassination.Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine Alexander Zakharchenko was killed on Friday in an explosion in a Donetsk restaurant, a local security source told Sputnik.</s>An explosion that rocked a cafe in central Donetsk city, in eastern Ukraine, has killed Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, and injured several other top officials.

“The head of the DPR, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, has died as a result of a terrorist act,” a spokesperson of the self-proclaimed republic’s administration told journalists, revealing no details of the incident.

“An improvised explosive device was planted inside the café … right near the entrance,” Aleksandr Kazakov, an advisor to the DPR leader, told RT, adding that the killers apparently knew that Zakharchenko would arrive at the café and were “waiting” for him. A state of emergency has been imposed, Kazakov said, adding that borders with both Ukraine and Russia were sealed as the security services are “actively searching for the potential perpetrators.”

One of Zakharchenko’s deputies also sustained severe injuries in the blast while several bodyguards died in the incident, Kazakov said. He added that Zakharchenko died at the scene as well, contrary to the earlier reports suggesting he was injured and succumbed to his wounds in a hospital.

The DPR security services detained the alleged perpetrators behind Zakharchenko’s murder later on Friday, a DPR spokesman confirmed, adding that their identities have been established. According to media reports, those detained were identified as “Ukrainian operatives and some of their accomplices.”

Dmitry Trapeznikov, one of Zakharchenko’s deputies, has been appointed as the DPR’s acting leader, the head of the local legislature, Denis Pushilin, told reporters.

Moscow condemned 42-year-old Zakharchenko’s murder, adding that it could be detrimental to the whole peace process in Ukraine. The death of the DPR leader could have a particularly negative impact on the implementation of the Minsk Agreements, Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Russian Senate’s International Affairs Committee, said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed his “deep condolences” to the relatives and the loved ones of the DPR head, the Kremlin said in a statement. Putin called Zakharchenko “a real people’s leader,” and “a brave man.” He also said that this incident shows that “those, who chose the path of terror, violence and intimidation, do not want to seek a peaceful…solution…and engage in a real dialog with the people living in south-eastern [Ukraine].”

There is “every reason to believe” that Zakharchenko’s murder was orchestrated by Kiev, which “has repeatedly resorted to such methods to get rid of dissidents and undesirables,” Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, said.

“Instead of abiding by the Minsk Agreements and seeking ways to resolve the internal [Ukrainian] conflict, the Kiev warmongers opted for a terrorist scenario, thus exacerbating an already tense situation in the region,” she added. The Ukrainian security service, the SBU, has denied involvement in the killing of the DPR head.

Zakharchenko headed the self-proclaimed republic since November 2014 when a crisis broke out in Ukraine following a coup d’état that ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The Eastern Ukrainian provinces of Donetsk and Lugansk engaged in open conflict with Kiev since they refused to accept the new government, following the 2014 coup, and established the self-proclaimed republics. He previously survived several assassination attempts.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story!</s>The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, a region of eastern Ukraine controlled by pro-Russian separatists, was killed Friday in an explosion at a cafe, DPR security sources reported.

The source, cited by Russian media, said Alexander Zakharchenko was killed when an explosion hit a bar in downtown Donetsk city.</s>Reports have emerged that an incendiary device planted by terrorists at the Separ cafe in central Donetsk has killed Donetsk People’s Republic leader Alexander Zakharchenko. Zakharchenko took the leadership of the Donetsk People’s Republic in the summer of 2014 and has subsequently been the most visible face of the anti-fascist liberation struggle in Donbass.

A front-line politician and organiser who often led his men in battle, Zakharchenko will be remembered as a figure of inspiration to the Donbass people. Alexander Zakharchenko was among the first to enlist in the anti-fascist resistance in the spring of 2014 before quickly rising up the ranks of Donetsk’s political and military leadership.

While the war in Donbass has largely been a frozen conflict in terms of contact lines remaining intact since 2016, sporadic offences by the forces of the Kiev regime have frequently seen civilians living near the contact line be killed or become seriously injured.

While the security situation in central Donetsk is generally calm, terrorists have in the past been able to sneak explosives into the city. 2017 saw the prominent assassinations of Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Givi Tolstykh and commander Arsen Motorola Pavlov. While neo-Nazi websites had frequently discussed targeting Zakharchenko, it was thought that the security around him was such that he was protected almost as well as a head of state outside of a war zone.

Today this proved not to be true as Zakharchenko was killed while many of his colleagues were injured. The Donetsk People’s Republic has subsequently declared a state of emergency and sealed all entry and exit points to its territory.

The Russian Foreign Minister has condemned the terrorist act and has accused the Kiev regime of committing an act of state terrorism. According to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova,

“DPR head Zakharchenko has been killed in a terror attack in Donetsk. There is every reason to believe that the Kiev regime, which has used similar means to eliminate unwanted people who have dissenting views more than once, is behind his assassination. Instead of implementing the Minsk agreements and looking for means to settle the internal conflict, Kiev’s party of war is implementing a terrorist scenario and is aggravating the already difficult situation in the region. Without fulfilling its peace promises, they decided to launch a bloody slaughter. The global community must demand, and, considering Ukraine’s puppet political system, control the impartial investigation into that crime committed in front of civilians’ eyes”.

Subsequent to Zakharova’s statement, Russian President Vladimir Putin condemned the terrorist assassination and said that the those responsible must be brought to justice. In a statement expressing his condolences Putin further said of Zakharchenko ,

“He was a real people’s leader, a brave man, a patriot of Donbass. This vile murder is another testimony that those who have chosen the path of terror, intimidation, do not want to seek a peaceful, political solution to the conflict. Russia will always be with people of Donbass. I express my deep condolences in connection with the tragic death of Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko …. I want to express my condolences to the relatives and friends of Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko and all residents of Donbass, Russia will always be with you”.

Officials from the Donetsk People’s Republic have confirmed that suspects have been apprehended in relation to the attack while others suggested that the US may have had a hand in the targeted killing.</s>Syria has condemned the murder of Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, an official source at the Foreign Ministry told Sana news agency. Zakharchenko’s killing is “a clear attempt to undermine the process of peaceful political settlement in the Donbass area and the implementation of Minsk agreements,” the statement added. Zakharchenko was killed in an explosion that rocked a cafe in Donetsk city in eastern Ukraine on Friday. The improvised explosive device was planted inside the café, near the entrance.</s>Pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine confirmed that key separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko was killed on Friday, adding that that several "Ukrainian operatives" were detained after the deadly blast in a Donetsk.

Zakharchenko served as the president and head of government of the so-called "Donetsk Republic." The area is one of the two self-proclaimed rebel-controlled entities on Ukrainian territory, alongside the "Luhansk Republic."

What we know so far:
• A blast in a Donetsk coffee shop killed Zakharchenko and wounded another top-level official.
• Rebel authorities say they have several suspects in custody.
• Separatist leaders pledged a response, saying the the blast was "an obvious act of aggression by Ukraine."
• Russia's Foreign Ministry said they had every reason to believe Kyiv was behind the bombing

Bombing the ceasefire: The assassination of Zakharchenko threatens to reignite the conflict between the rebels and the security forces, which had been reduced to occasional shelling with virtually no large-scale skirmishes between the two sides. This week, the rebels and the government agreed to a truce to allow for students to attend classes at the beginning of the school year.

Response from Russia: Moscow accused "the Kyiv war party" of staging terror attacks after the coffee-shop blast in Donetsk.

"They are not fulfilling promises of peace, and as we see, they decided to move on the bloody battle," said Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

Response from Ukraine: Kyiv's intelligence agency SBU offered two versions of the Zakharchenko's killing, hinting that Russia may be involved in the attack.

"We have reasons to believe that Zakharchenko's death could be the result of an internal struggle among the militants, mostly due to redistribution of business interests," said SBU chief Igor Guskov. "However, we also don't exclude the possibility that it was an attempt by Russian intelligence services to remove a disliked figure, which, according to out information, became superfluous and was bothering the Russians."

More to come...</s>The leader of Russian-backed separatists in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine has been killed in a blast at a cafe in Donetsk city, the separatist administration said on Friday.

Alexander Zakharchenko, who led the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic since 2014, died “as a result of a terrorist act”, the separatist-run Donetsk News Agency reported.

Russia‘s Foreign Ministry said it had every reason to believe Kiev was responsible for Zakharchenko’s death, RIA news agency said.

 

 Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Zakharchenko’s death showed that Kiev had decided to engage in a “bloody fight” and had passed up on its promises of seeking peace, RIA reported.

Russian-backed rebels threw off Ukrainian central rule in an armed uprising after pro-Western leaders opposed by Moscow came to power in the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, in 2014.

Zakharchenko, a 42-year-old former coalmine electrician, became leader of the Donetsk Republic in November 2014. Other rebel leaders say he was handpicked for the role by Moscow. A vote held by separatists confirmed him in office.

The separatists have blamed Ukraine for previous attacks inside rebel-held territory.

The separatists have been dogged by infighting that has, on occasion, turned violent. Several past leaders of the separatists have fled the region, saying they feared for their lives after their comrades turned on them.
The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, is killed in a blast at a café in Donetsk.