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. 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.
The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, is killed in a blast at a café in Donetsk.