During the explosion in Donetsk, the head of the DPR Alexander Zakharchenko died. Main

The head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, died as a result of the explosion in the Separ cafe in the center of Donetsk. A few more people were injured - among them, in particular, the Minister of Taxes and Revenues of the DPR Alexander Timofeev. According to September 1, in addition to Zakharchenko, his bodyguard died; 12 people were injured. The cafe where the explosion occurred, according to Vedomosti, belongs to the head of the security of Zakharchenko. The residence of the head of the DPR is located a few hundred meters from this place.

The authorities of the DPR officially called what happened "terrorist attack." According to Interfax, the local security forces detained several people - these are “Ukrainian saboteurs and related faces”. They were caught in a car on Bogdan Khmelnitsky Avenue, which is located a few hundred meters from the scene of the explosion. Life sources report that one of the guards Zakharchenko is suspected of attempted - he managed to hide.

The DPR said that the attempts were the forces of special operations of Ukraine, and the detainees "as a result of the interrogation confirmed the involvement of the Ukrainian side in the crime."

Russia accused of the attempt by Ukraine. “There is every reason to believe that behind his murder is the Kiev regime, which has repeatedly used such methods for eliminating dissenting and objectionable,” said Maria Zakharova, official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry. The chairman of the CIS Duma Committee Leonid Kalashnikov expressed confidence that those who are interested in weakening the DPR are behind the murder - that is, "current Kyiv authorities and no one else."

In Kyiv, involvement in the explosion is denied. The head of the apparatus of the head of the SBU, Igor Guskov, said that the special services have reason to believe that Zakharchenko’s death was the result of internal conflicts related to “the redistribution of the squeezed business”. “But we do not exclude attempts by Russian special services to eliminate a rather odious figure, which, according to our information, interfered with the Russians,” he said.

Alexander Zakharchenko entered the leading bodies of the DPR since its proclamation in April 2014: first as the deputy minister of internal affairs, then as a military commandant Donetsk, then as the chairman of the Council of Ministers of the DPR. He became the head of the self -proclaimed republic in November 2014 according to the results of the separatists in the territories of the elections controlled by them. In Ukraine, Zakharchenko was put on the wanted list - he is accused of creating a terrorist organization. He also entered the sanctions lists of the United States and the European Union.

In recent years, several influential commanders who fought since 2014 have died in the DPR. In October 2016, Arsen Pavlov, known for the call sign, was blown up in Donetsk in Donetsk in the elevator of his house. In February 2017, the commander of the Somali battalion Mikhail Tolstykh (Givi) was killed in his office. In both murders, the leaders of the DPR accused Ukrainian saboteurs. The official authorities of Ukraine denied involvement in attempts.

Update . The acting head of the DPR was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of the self-proclaimed republic Dmitry Trapeznikov.

Grigory Levchenko