Donetsk People's Republic leader Zakharchenko assassinated in bomb blast - UPDATE

Sputnik
Fri, 31 Aug 2018 17:22 UTC

© Sputnik / Igor Maslov

Alexander Zakharchenko, the head the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

The Donetsk People's Republic Operational Command said Friday that exits and entrances to Donetsk have been closed following a blast that left the republic's head Alexander Zakharchenko dead and three more injured.

A lawmaker of the People's Council of the DPR confirmed reports about the death of DPR leader Alexander Zakharchenko in a bomb explosion in downtown Donetsk on Friday.

"The DPR leader died in the explosion at Separ cafe," Vladislav Berdichevsky told reporters.

Later DPR Head adviser said that the bomb that killed Zakharchenko was deliberately placed in the restaurant he visited.

According to the government source, Zakharchenko died due to a severe head wound. The security source with the self-proclaimed People's Republic told Sputnik that DPR Finance Minister Alexander Timofeev was also wounded in the incident.

© RUSSIA TV

Cafe "Separ" in Donetsk

Russia's Reaction to Zakharchenko's Assassination

Addressing the death of the DPR head, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said that Moscow considers the blast to be a terrorist attack carried out by Kiev.

"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," Zakharova told reporters, also calling for an impartial investigation, monitored by the international community.

According to the diplomat, since the West had assumed control over the situation in Ukraine, it was now the duty of the Western governments to "guarantee an impartial investigation."

Kiev's Response to Incident

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), in turn, rejected the accusations of involvement in the assassination.

"We confirm this information [about Zakharchenko's death], but Ukrainian security services have nothing to do with this. In our opinion, this was the result of wars between local leaders dividing something," SBU spokeswoman Elena Gitlyanskaya told the UNN agency.

Zakharchenko joined the Donetsk militia following a coup in Kiev in 2014 and was elected leader of the Donetsk People's Republic in November 2014.

Comment: More details from RT:

"The head of the DNR, Alenksandr 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 DNR 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.

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 DNR 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.

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.

UPDATE: Suspects in Assassination detained. Sputnik reports:

According to Alexander Kazakov, adviser to the DPR head, the suspects have been detained following an operation.

© @Russ_Warrior/Twitter

The explosion caused by a bomb took place inside "Separ" café, near to Zakharchenko's house,

"At this point, a state of emergency has been introduced in the republic, the borders have been closed, suspects have already been detained," Kazakov said in an interview with the television channel Russia-1.

Kazakov added that despite the announced detention of the suspects, the borders of the DPR, including those with Russia and Lugansk People's Republic, are closed as operation is in course.

Following the death of the DPR Head, the deputy prime minister Dmitry Trapeznikov was appointed as Zakharchenko's successor.

"The decision of the DPR territorial defense headquarters: in accordance with the paragraph 1 of the article 102 of the DPR Constitution, to appoint Trapeznikov Dmitry Viktorovich, the deputy head of the council of ministers, interim [DPR] leader in connection to the death of [DPR] head Alexander Zakharchenko," the decision, read out by Trapeznikov himself.

Russia's Statements on the Assassination

Commenting on the issue, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the incident was an attempt to destabilize the situation in the region and bring the people of Donbass to their knees, adding that the hoped to see organizers and perpetrators of the "despicable assassination" found and punished.

The President also expressed his deep condolences, that Russia will always be with the people of Donbass.

"I want to express condolences... to relatives and friends of Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko and all people of Donbass. Russia will be always with you," Putin said.

Following the explosion, Russia's Investigative Committee has opened a criminal investigation, considering the incident to be an act of international terrorism, spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko said.

"Russia's Investigative Committee, based on the existing international experience in the investigation of terrorist acts, is ready to provide all possible assistance to law enforcement agencies of the Donetsk People's Republic in the probe," Petrenko added.