Ukraine Rebel Leader Killed While Grieving For Late Russian Singer - Luhansk Acting Chief

MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st September, 2018) Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine, was killed by a bomb that targeted an event honoring a late native of the Donetsk region and iconic Russian singer, Iosif Kobzon, the acting head of the neighboring Luhansk province said.

The 42-year-old president of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic was killed in a blast that ripped through a cafe in downtown Donetsk on Friday. The attack also injured the region's deputy prime minister Alexander Timofeev.

"Alexander Zakharchenko did not die in combat, he died during a memorial service held by the republic's authorities for another Donbass hero, Iosif Kobzon," Leonid Pasechnik, the acting head of the Luhansk People's Republic said in a speech.

Kobzon, a famous Soviet and later Russian singer and lawmaker, died Thursday at the age of 80. He had a prolific career and was compared to Frank Sinatra for his crooning style.

Pasechnik accused unnamed bombers of a cowardly political assassination. Local authorities blamed Ukraine for murdering the pro-independence leader after a string of bombings in recent years that killed other prominent rebel figures.