LPR authorities declare state of emergency after Zakharchenko's assassination
The Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) has announced emergency measures after the death of the Donetsk People's Republic’s leader, Alexander Zakharchenko, stated the acting leader of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik.
Pasechnik stated that the situation in the so-called republic is stable and under complete control of local authorities. “We have taken all comprehensive measures on security enhancement. People’s police units are put on high alert, and the MGB (Ministry of State Security), MIA (Ministry of Internal Affairs) and Prosecutor's Office divisions are operating on an emergency schedule,” RIA Novosti cited Pasechnik as saying.
On August 31, Zakharchenko was killed by an explosion in a Donetsk restaurant. Rosbalt news outlet reports, citing a source in the DPR Ministry of State Security, that the DPR leader’s bodyguard is suspected of complicity in the murder. The investigation is focusing on two distinct possibilities for motive: that the assassination was ordered by the Security Service of Ukraine or that Zakharchenko was eliminated by political competitors.