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CCTV footage of explosion that killed Donbass leader released (VIDEO) CCTV footage of explosion that killed Donbass leader released (VIDEO)
(about 7 hours later)
Footage of the blast that killed Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, has been obtained by the Russian media. The investigators also shared some new details of the incident. Footage of the blast that killed the head of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, Aleksandr Zakharchenko, on August 31 has been aired by Russian media.
The video, aired by the Russian Rossiya 1 TV channel, shows the CCTV footage of Zakharchenko entering a café in Donetsk, in Eastern Ukraine, surrounded by his bodyguards on August 31, moments before the deadly explosion. The CCTV images, obtained by Russia’s Rossiya 1 TV channel, show Zakharchenko entering a cafe in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine, surrounded by his bodyguards, moments before the deadly explosion.
One of his bodyguards was the first to enter the café to check security. It is only then that Zakharchenko himself goes into a small lobby accompanied by another bodyguard. A massive explosion immediately rocks the entire building. One of his bodyguards enters before him as a security precaution. Then, Zakharchenko himself steps into a small lobby accompanied by another bodyguard. A huge explosion immediately rocks the building.
And in a case of cruel irony, the table in the cafe which was frequently used by Zakharchenko had a sign reading: “this table is mined”, apparently a light-hearted attempt to deter other patrons from claiming his spot. In a cruel case of irony, the table in the cafe that Zakharchenko frequently used to sit at had a sign on it reading: “this table is mined”, apparently a light-hearted attempt to deter other patrons from claiming his spot.
Investigators revealed that an explosive device with a payload equivalent to 1.5 kilograms of TNT, and filled with shrapnel, was placed inside the ceiling in the lobby. As a result of the explosion, the lobby was completely destroyed while Zakharchenko and his bodyguard died at the scene. Investigators say that an explosive device with a payload equivalent to 1.5 kilograms of TNT, and filled with shrapnel, had been placed in the ceiling in the lobby. As a result of the explosion, the lobby was completely destroyed while Zakharchenko and one of his bodyguards died at the scene.
It is still unclear how the culprits managed to place the device, as it would require dismantling the enclosure ceiling and would take quite some time. According to the investigators, it was also connected to the café’s electric wiring. It is still unclear how the culprits managed to install the device, as it would have required dismantling part of the ceiling and taken quite some time. According to investigators, it was also connected to the cafe’s electrical wiring.
The bomb was detonated at the very moment Zakharchenko was going through the lobby, the investigators said, adding that such an operation would require thorough preparation and impeccable timing. The bomb was detonated at the very moment Zakharchenko was walking through the lobby. Investigators say that the operation would have required thorough preparation and impeccable timing.
“A person of Zakharchenko's size would require [mere] seconds to pass through the lobby,” Aleksandr Konoplya, a member of the investigative team, told Rossiya 1. The assassins either would have had to follow the DPR head’s motorcade, or to have several cameras near the café, or even to somehow tap into the facility’s CCTV network, he added. “A person of Zakharchenko's size would require [mere] seconds to pass through the lobby,” Aleksandr Konoplya, a member of the investigative team, told Rossiya 1. The assassins either would have had to follow the DPR head’s motorcade, or had several cameras near the cafe, or even somehow tapped into the facility’s CCTV network, he added.
The investigators have not revealed if the CCTV cameras also recorded the moment when the device was placed. Earlier, the DPR acting head, Denis Pushilin, said that Zakharchenko’s murder was committed with the help of Western intelligence services. The investigators have not revealed if the CCTV cameras also recorded the moment the device was planted. The DPR’s acting head, Denis Pushilin, has previously said that Zakharchenko’s murder was carried out with the help of Western intelligence services.
DPR investigators analyzed the remains of the explosive device that killed Zakharchenko and identified technology that hadn’t previously been used by the Ukrainian security service, the SBU, he said. The SBU released a statement, in which it denied any involvement in the incident and blamed it on the infighting in the Donetsk Republic. DPR investigators have analyzed the remains of the explosive device that killed Zakharchenko, and identified technology that hadn’t previously been used by the Ukrainian SBU security service, he said.
Earlier in September, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Ukrainian intelligence services of being behind the explosion that killed Zakharchenko. Moscow also condemned the murder of the 42-year old, saying that the incident may jeopardize the peace process in the east of the country. The SBU released a statement denying any involvement in the incident and blaming it on infighting in Donetsk.
Zakharchenko had headed the DPR since November 2014, when a crisis broke out in Ukraine following a coup d’etat that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych. Earlier in September, Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) accused Ukrainian intelligence services of orchestrating the killing. Moscow has condemned the murder of the 42-year old, saying the incident may jeopardize the peace process in the east of the country.
Zakharchenko had headed the DPR since November 2014, when a crisis broke out in Ukraine following a coup d’état that ousted President Viktor Yanukovych.
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