The explosion took place at 7:50 A.M. on one of Lugansk’s central streets. The government of the Lugansk People’s Republic has qualified the incident as a terrorist attack by Ukrainian special forces. The interior ministry is still further investigating the tragedy. The Special Monitoring Mission of the OSCE has reported that the explosive device in question amounted to upwards of 5 kg of TNT equivalent.

The day before his assassination, Anashchenko had held a press briefing in which he revealed the latest reports on Ukrainian war crimes in Donbass.

Andrey Marochko, the official spokesperson of the LPR’s People’s Militia, commented on the situation: “Despite this, Kiev’s punitive forces will not succeed in breaking the morale of the soldiers of the People’s Militia. We will find the masterminds and perpetrators of this heinous act and they will be deservedly punished,” he is quoted as saying by RIA Novosti.

The General Prosecutor of the republic has officially opened a criminal case against Ukraine for “committing a terrorist act” in the form of “detonating an explosion to intimidate the population, destabilize the activities of authorities, and intentionally inflict death upon a human being.”

Anashchenko’s murder was regretted by Igor Plotnitsky, the leader of the Lugansk People’s Republic, who praised the assassinated commander: “Oleg Vladimirovich Anashchenko can confidently be called a modern hero of the rebirth of the Russian World. Since the very first days of the war, we’ve fought shoulder to shoulder for our freedom and independence, defending every inch of our native land. Our first military achievements and victories were linked to this man.”

February 5th has been declared a day of mourning in Lugansk in honor of the fallen commander.

The assassination of Anashchenko comes on the heels of the massive escalation of fighting in Donbass across nearly the entire front since January 28th.

The people’s republics of Donbass have recorded thousands of artillery bombardments on a daily basis and repeatedly stated that the latest flare up in violence is the result of offensive operations and provocations by the Ukrainian Army.