DPR bombing
At 13:00 on August 25th, an explosion broke out in the center of Donetsk outside the home of the famous Sparta battalion commander Motorola and the deputy prime minister of the DPR. The explosion itself claimed the life of one so-far unidentified man, whose death ties into the remaining mystery of the placement of the device.

While specialists and intelligence services are still working at the scene, varying reports have claimed that the bomb, either packaged TNT or a grenade, was either placed in the nearby trash bin while "the man who died was doing something in the bushes nearby," or that the victim of the explosion was in fact the perpetrator of this supposed act of terrorism whose bomb exploded in his own pocket as a result of unsuccessful preparation. Social media updates, official statements, and differing speculations are currently making their rounds.

DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko has since stated that the explosion could have been an attempt on the lives of important republic leaders.

Precise device positioning aside, this explosive incident is not the first of its kind. In fact, it is by all indices only the latest in a series of incidents which have no other likely source than Ukrainian forces and their agents within the Donbass republics. It is no coincidence that on Monday, a bomb was discovered and neutralized in the apartment of the republic's leader, Alexander Zakharchenko.


That the UAF is intensifying special forces operations including sabotage, reconnaissance, and assassination attempts is a reality that both Donbass authorities and expert analysts have warned of especially since the attempt on LPR leader Igor Plotnitsky on August 6th. The Crimea incident perhaps marked the peak or climactic acceleration of these operations. The general context is clear: with nowhere to turn, Ukraine is opting for desperate and even irrational and unprepared measures to give the spark to light the flame of war that its regime needs so badly to stay warm.

The picture presented by yesterday's incident is a pertinent one. Whether or not the bomb was wielded or put in place by a Ukrainian agent or asset or not, Motorola and the DPR deputy prime minister are alive and well and life is continuing in the republic.

Over the past two years, the Novorossiyan people's republics have transformed from loose popular groups armed with guns or shovels into real states with developed and constantly improving armed forces, security services, and leadership structures whose existence and fighting capacity are no longer confined to mere charismatic personalities and lofty ideals. That the latter two factors persist is a testament to the continuing vitality of the DPR and LPR, not a reflection of lingering limitations.

At the end of the day, a single bomb has gone off in Donetsk and claimed one victim, perhaps its own orchestrator, but the republic is not shaken. On the contrary, it is prepared to withstand, analyze, and respond to such incidents. If Ukraine was behind this, then it has failed once again to eliminate a target or wreak chaos in the capital of the people's republic, the only two possible objectives it could have had.