Ukrainian Separatist Leader Zakharchenko Dies In Cafe Blast

An occasional passerby could be seen laying flowers at the site of a badly-damaged cafe on September 1 in the separatist-held Ukrainian city of Donetsk, where a blast is said to have killed Aleksandr Zakharchenko, the leader of the Russia-backed breakaway entity in the region. Shortly after the explosion on August 31, Russia's Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of killing the separatist leader in an attempt to precipitate an upsurge in fighting in the eastern Donbas region. Kyiv, however, said it had nothing to do with the blast, which it blamed on separatist infighting.