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> 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> 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 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. </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> Moscow is analyzing the assassination of Alexander Zakharchenko, the commander of pro-Russian separatists and head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic in Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday.

The deadly Friday blast was "an open provocation, aimed at disrupting the fulfillment of the Minsk Accords," Lavrov told reporters, referring to the 2015 peace deal.

"Although, truth be told, the Ukrainian authorities were not fulfilling them anyway," Lavrov added.

While the peace process has pretty much stalled in recent months, the Minsk accords still serve as a roadmap for solving the conflict. Russia and Ukraine agreed on the treaty brokered by France and Germany, in what became known as the "Normandy format."

On Saturday, Lavrov said that Zakharchenko's assassination made it "impossible" to talk about such meetings for the time being, "despite many of our European partners wanting it."

Previously, Moscow said it had "all reasons to believe" Kyiv was behind the attack. Separatist leaders also announced that they have captured "Ukrainian operatives" following the blast in a coffee shop in downtown Donetsk.

Zakharchenko and one more person were killed in the blast, with several more injured, including the finance head of the so-called Donetsk Republic.

The entity has declared a three-day mourning period for the 42-year-old leader. Zakharchenko's deputy Dmitry Trapeznikov was named the acting president. </s> The assassination of the Donetsk People’s Republic’s leader Aleksandr Zakharchenko is intended to undermine the ceasefire deal in eastern Ukraine and make European-backed peace talks “impossible,” Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said.

“It is a blatant provocation aimed at undermining the implementation of the Minsk Agreement in eastern Ukraine,” Lavrov told reporters on Saturday.

Zakharchenko was killed on Friday when an explosive device detonated at a cafe in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) capital, Donetsk. His bodyguard was also killed in the blast, and 11 people were injured.

READ MORE: Leader of self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic killed in E. Ukraine blast

“Given the current situation, it’s impossible to talk about the nearest meetings in the Normandy format like many of our European partners would have wanted,” Lavrov said. “It is a serious situation that must be analyzed. We are doing it right now.”

The Normandy format, also known as the Normandy Four, is a contact group comprising France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia. The group is tasked with negotiating a peace settlement in eastern Ukraine.

Think your friends would be interested? Share this story! </s> Tens of thousands of people gathered in Ukraine's rebel stronghold Donetsk on Sunday to mourn the killing of separatist leader Alexander Zakharchenko.

Mourners queued to view the flag-draped coffin of the leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic at a local theatre.

Zakharchenko died in a blast at a coffee shop in Donetsk on Friday. His bodyguard was also killed and 12 more people were wounded.

He was the most prominent figure from the Russia-backed side to be killed in Ukraine's four-year conflict. Zakharchenko had been wounded twice in combat and survived a car bomb in August 2014.

Authorities estimated the turnout for the funeral was about 100,000 people, while a correspondent from AFP news agency put the number closer to 30,000.

Donetsk's city centre was cordoned off and public transport temporarily suspended as people gathered to pay their respects.

Billboards displayed pictures of Zakharchenko and his quotes, including "All of us have one Motherland - Russia."

Russia accused Ukraine of assassinating the 42-year-old, but Kiev blamed the explosion on separatist infighting.

Many mourners pointed a finger at Ukraine's government for being behind the attack. "We will never forget this tragedy, we will never forgive," said Sergei Kapustin, 35.

Anatoly Bibilov, leader of Georgia's breakaway region South Ossetia, and Alexander Borodai, a Russian journalist and former prime minister of the Donetsk republic, were in attendance.

Vladislav Surkov, an aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin, issued a statement carried by Donetsk's official news agency calling Zakharchenko a "brother".

"You are a cool guy, a true hero and it's a huge honour to be your friend," it read.

Zakharchenko, a former coal mine electrician, joined pro-Russian separatists in an armed uprising in Donetsk in 2014 and sold his business to help fund the movement.

He took the reins as the leader of the Donetsk People's Republic in November 2014 from a number of Russians, in a bid to show Ukraine's separatist movement wasn't a Russian-led operation.

Other rebel leaders say he was handpicked for the role by Moscow. A vote held by separatists confirmed him in office.

Zakharchenko introduced Soviet-style military parades with tanks in Donetsk and usually wore military fatigues despite his political role.

"I expect that the organisers and executors of this crime will get the deserved punishment," he said in a telegram of condolences released by the Kremlin.

On Saturday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Zakharchenko's murder would derail long-delayed international peace talks on Ukraine.

Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany are involved in the talks, known as the Normandy format, which was established to seek a peaceful settlement to the conflict.

More than 10,000 people have been killed since rebels in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions overthrew Ukrainian central rule in April 2014 following Russia's annexation of Crimea.

A shaky internationally brokered ceasefire has been in force since 2015, halting large-scale fighting. But there are still frequent firefights on the front line between separatists and Ukrainian forces.

Kiev and its Western allies have accused Russia of sending troops and arms into Ukraine. Moscow denies the allegations but has admitted Russian "volunteers" are assisting the rebels.
The leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Zakharchenko, is killed in a blast at a café in Donetsk.