A video was shown at the moment when the President of the People's Republic of Donetsk, Aleksander Zakharchenko, entered the Cibar cafe in Donetsk, where he was assassinated.
The video, taken by a surveillance camera at the entrance to the cafe in Donbass, shows the moment when Zakharchenko's motorcade approaches, gets out of the car and then enters the restaurant accompanied by his bodyguards.
Video shaw The moment of assassination of the leader of the separatists in eastern Ukraine 2018.
Russian media have broadcast a video of what it said were the moments of the assassination of the leader of the so-called separatist People's Republic of Eastern Ukraine, Alexander Zakharchenko, in late August.
The video "exclusive" was seen only by experts and investigators, where the leader of the separatists appear in a large procession stopped in front of a break used to resort to.
When Zakharenko and his accomplices left the car and entered the scene, a huge explosion took place inside, killing him and some of his companions.
The guards were seen outside rushing into the cars for fear of being hit by another wave of explosions.
Investigators said the operation was carried out accurately by using the cameras in the same place to make sure that the target entered the break, which means that the camera circuit has been penetrated cameras.
The place was carefully bombarded so that the explosion would not give anyone a chance to escape.
Moscow has accused Kiev of being responsible for the blast, which was denied by Ukraine, according to the Reuters news agency.
The businessman, who led the rebels fighting Ukrainian government forces in the industrial and mining city of Donetsk, was elected first president of the unrecognized republic in 2014 and stated at the time that his ambition was to build a "new state."
More than 10,000 people have been killed since the rebellion broke out in the Donetsk and Lugansk regions in April 2014, after Russia occupied the Crimea.
Ukraine and its Western allies accuse Russia of sending weapons and arms across the border, while Moscow denies this.
Who was Alexander Zakharchenko?
Born and raised in Donetsk, he started his career as a technician in the mining industry and after that he started his own private business. In 2010 Zakharchenko became the head of the Donetsk department of the “Oplot” non-governmental organization. The NGO itself quickly built a solid base in Eastern Ukraine by doing social work among the Russian speaking people, as well as other various cultural and historical activities, related mostly to caring for monuments of the Red Army or searching for remnants of dead soldiers. There was also a MMA sports club , which quickly evolved into an armed militia in the context of the crisis in 2014. It was Zakharchenko who was chosen to be the commander of battalion “Oplot”.
In the next few months he played major role in the war, seizing the power from the government forces in Donetsk. This led to his promotion to the rank of major-general. During the military operation in Donbass he was wounded twice and had a title “Hero of DPR” along with other orders of the self-proclaimed republic. In August 2014, supported by Russia, he was elected by the newly established parliament as president of DPR. Until his death Zakharchenko remained in this post. In 2015 he participated in the negotiations and the signing of the Minsk agreements.
What are the theories?
According to the Russian journalist from Novaya Gazeta Pavel Kanygin, there are three main theories. The first one is of course the official Russian version, according to which the Ukrainian secret services are responsible for the assassination.
The second possibility is related with money and business relations with billionaire Serhiy Kurchenko, who left in exile in Rusia in 2014 and currently runs enterprises in Crimea and Donbass. While in power, Zakharchenko, along with his close partner Timofeev, both imposed control over profitable businesses in the mining industry and the trade of fuel and pharmaceutical products. According to unconfirmed information, the most profitable was the coal, which was exported to Russia and then imported back to Donbass, labelled as Russian import. This re-export scheme leads to raise of the price and the demand of coal in Donbass and necessitates the inclusion on intermediaries , which happened to be close to Kurchenko. According to Kanygin, Zakharchenko and Timofeev wanted to expand their share of the profits, something that might have forced Kurchenko to search for a way to get rid of his partners.
The third theory is political. Alexander Zakharchenko has never been responsible for taking important decisions about the war or the foreign policy of DPR. These decisions are taken in Moscow and people like Zaharchenko are just pawns in a much bigger game. Nonetheless, he was still a face and one of the symbols of the separatists. In 2015 he signed the Minsk agreements on behalf of DPR and at least formally he was responsible for their implementation. Until this moment however, intentionally or not, none of the clauses have been completed. Something that annoys Kiyv, EU and the USA. Removing a figure like Zakharchenko, closely associated with the fail of the agreements, might be a sign which would give an opportunity for a restart of the negotiations about the future of Donbass and possible sanctions relief.
What is next?
Immediately after Zakharchenko’s death, the military forces of DPR were put on high alert. However, an escalation of hostilities is unlikely possible. The front line remains largely calm with small but permanent violations of the truce. Something that has been normal for that last four years. At this point, neither Russia, nor Ukraine can have benefit from renewed military actions.
Now the acting president is Denis Pushilin, who also holds the position of parliament speaker. It is likely that Pushilin will remain in office after the elections scheduled for November. He looks like an acceptable option and a person Kiyv might negotiate with. Without military past and a role in the violation of the Ukrainian territorial integrity. It all depends on what decision will be taken in Moscow. From their choice of president of DPR, it will become clear what the future relations with Ukraine will be like.