Zakharchenko was the popular Prime Minister of Donetsk
MOSCOW, August 31 (Sputnik)
- Leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine Alexander Zakharchenko was killed on Friday in an explosion in downtown Donetsk, a local security source told Sputnik.
"According to preliminary data, one dead and three wounded," the source said.
Later 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 the Separ cafe," Vladislav Berdichevky told reporters.
The security source with the DPR told Sputnik, that DPR Finance minister Timofeev was also wounded in the incident.
A blast occurred earlier on Friday in a restaurant several hundred meters from the residence of DPR head Alexander Zakharchenko.
Zakharchenko joined the Donetsk militia following a coup in Kiev in 2014 and was elected as leader of the Donetsk People's Republic in November 2014.
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