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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45371270


Before Iron Cap even asks, i'd never do something so crass as use a car bomb to take out a cafe.

The bomb would have been in his car when he got out of the cafe, however.



ATM though The Ukrainians are blaming Russia, and the Ukrainian Traitors and Russia blame the Ukraine.

A lot of rebel leaders have been assassinated in similar ways since 2016. Depending on who you ask it is:
1. The government resorting to terrorist tactics
2. Russia trying to establish more control over the rebels by killing the original leaders of the uprising and replacing them with Kremlin agents.
3. Infighting between different rebel factions.

Of these, I think 3 is unlikely. There have not really been many signs of major conflicts in the rebel alliance, and internal conflicts between rebel warlords usually get settled a bit more violently, not with car bombs. This is the work of a secret service, not of a bunch of peasants with guns.
But whether it is Kiev or Moscow? I would not know. Both have the motive, both have the capability.

Anyways, it is sad that Zakharchenko died. He was a good man who genuinely cared about the people of Donbass. He also has a young family who will have to miss their dad now. War is a sad business.

There's been a handful of assassinations within the DNR to date, with this just being the largest one. As Iron_Captain says its up in the air who did it. Though so far the DNR are using it as a provocation to up their military presence at the border.

Given Russia's handling of the governing of these contested areas, it wouldn't be beyond them to have done this. Even if they liked the guy, they could want to shake things up further in the face of progress on Ukraine's side. Or rather the Separatist territories continuing to spiral into Stalinist esque hellholes. Their coup in the LNR shows how they handle people they don't like, but at least on the face of it that isn't how Zakharchenko carried himself (he was after all installed by them after the first guy abdicated).

Though to say that this is beyond the rebels is a bit of a stretch. Considering how much explosives Ukrainian police seize each year from anti-government agents. And given that there's already been assassinations via car bombing this year in the DNR.

Rather, the concern here's what's going to happen next. Regardless of the truth this will be used for each party's own ends. The Minsk Agreements will continue to be used as toilet paper. This in a week that its came out that Putin's response to the Minsk Agreements was that he'd march his troops into the rest of the country for all they're worth...