20 Facts About Alexander Zakharchenko

Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko was a Ukrainian separatist leader who was the head of state and Prime Minister of the Donetsk People's Republic, a self-proclaimed state and rebel group which declared independence from Ukraine on 11 May 2014.

Zakharchenko was appointed Prime Minister in August 2014 after his predecessor Alexander Borodai resigned, and went on to win the early November 2014 election for the position.

Alexander Zakharchenko then worked as a mine electrician before opening a business in the mining industry.

Alexander Zakharchenko studied with the law institute of the Interior Ministry.

In 2010, Alexander Zakharchenko became head of the Donetsk branch of OPLOT, a pro-Russian militant organization established in Kharkiv by Yevgeny Zhilin.

Alexander Zakharchenko was appointed the "military commandant of Donetsk" on 16 May 2014.

From May 2014, Alexander Zakharchenko played a leading role in the insurgency against Ukraine's central government.

In September 2014, Alexander Zakharchenko was the lead negotiator for the DPR at the Minsk Protocol, which agreed to a peace plan for the war in Donbas.

The day after the elections, the head of Oplot organization Evgeniy Zhylin gave an interview to the Russian television channel Dozhd where he told how Alexander Zakharchenko was appointed as a head of Donetsk branch of Oplot and how his candidacy as a leader of the DPR was promoted from Moscow.

In February 2015, Alexander Zakharchenko, representing the DPR, agreed to the Minsk II peace treaty, calling it a "major victory for the Lugansk and Donetsk People's Republics".

Alexander Zakharchenko stated that he had no intention on adhering to the ceasefire within the Debaltseve region.

Alexander Zakharchenko was wounded in the leg on 17 February 2015 during the closing stages of the Battle of Debaltseve.

Prilepin, a Russian writer and political activist of the National Bolshevik Party, stated that Alexander Zakharchenko was among the top five most popular politicians in Ukraine and could be elected the President of Ukraine.

In 2016, Prilepin published a book in which Alexander Zakharchenko is the protagonist.

In October 2014, Alexander Zakharchenko declared that he can shoot at any Ukrainian city with a clear conscience.

Alexander Zakharchenko said that his forces detained up to five "Ukrainian subversives" every day.

Alexander Zakharchenko was killed by a bomb explosion in the cafe "Separ" on Pushkin Boulevard in Donetsk, on 31 August 2018.

Reports say DNR's finance minister Alexander Zakharchenko Timofeyev was wounded in the blast.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his condolences to Alexander Zakharchenko's family, calling his death a "contemptible murder".

Alexander Zakharchenko said that the Donbas region "will not forgive Zakharchenko's murder".