Murdered Lugansk Commander Contributed to Republic's Achievements - LPR Head

LUGANSK (Sputnik) — The blast occurred earlier in the day in the city of Lugansk in Donbass and is considered a terrorist attack by the local security forces.

"I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased Col. Anashchenko. His courage, tenacity, valor have become the example of the officer's duty and honor to us," Plotnitsky said, as quoted by his press service.

The LPR head added that Anashchenko contributed greatly to the first achievements and victories of the self-proclaimed republic.

Local security forces suspect Kiev authorities of having organized the attack.

The Donbass conflict erupted in April 2014 as a local counter-reaction to the West-sponsored Maidan coup in Kiev that had toppled legitimate President Viktor Yanukovych in February. Residents of the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held independence referendums and proclaimed the People's Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. Kiev has since been conducting a military operation, encountering stiff local resistance.

In February 2015, Kiev forces and Donbass independence supporters signed a peace agreement in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. The deal stipulates a full ceasefire, weapons withdrawal from the line of contact in Donbass, as well as constitutional reforms that would give a special status to the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics. Despite the agreement, the ceasefire regime is regularly violated, with both sides accusing each other of multiple breaches, undermining the terms of the accord.

In 2016, prominent commanders Arseny Pavlov (also known as Motorola) and Alexei Mozgovoi, from the DPR and the LPR, respectively, were assassinated.