LUGANSK, July 7. /TASS/. Two blasts occurred near the Square of Heroes of the Great Patriotic War in central Lugansk, where offices of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) administration are located, on Friday. The blasts occurred within an hour of each other.
The first blast, which killed a female military medical officer and left five people wounded, was classified by the LPR militia as a terrorist attack.
"A homemade explosive devise seems to have been planted in a garbage can near a grocery store," Spokesman for the LPR militia Andrei Marochko said at a briefing at the Luganskinfromecetner news agency’s headquarters. "The type and yield of the explosive device are being specified," he added.
In about an hour, the second blast occurred 30 meters away from the scene of the first explosion. "The second explosion went off several dozen meters away from the site of the firs blast when law enforcers were working on the site. Two civilians were wounded," he added.
Law enforcement officials and members of the people’s militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LPR) have expanded the cordoned off area and beefed up security measures.
"A series of appalling terror attacks were committed today in the broad daylight in the center of Lugansk. Explosions rocked a densely populated district near a place of public entertainment, a children’s ground, people’s militia headquarters," LuganskInformcenter quoted LPR’s Head Igor Plotnitsky as saying.
"Terrorist attacks are always geared to intimidate not only those who are affected by them but also the entire civilian population. I call on the residents of the republic to demonstrate vigilance and not to yield to panic," he stressed.
"I would like to reassure you that the republic’s leadership, law enforcement agencies and security service are spare no effort to punish those responsible for these terror attacks and prevent possible aggressive actions in future," Plotnitsky pledged.