Those accused of first DPR head’s attempted murder also charged with Militia head’s murder
"The plan was to remotely detonate an improvised explosive device, which was to be placed on the roof of the elevator at the time when Pavlov would be in it," the source said
ROSTOV-ON-DON, August 29. /TASS/. The accused in the attempted assassination of the first head of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) Alexander Zakharchenko, whose case has been brought before the Southern District Military Court, are also charged with the murder of Militia commander Arsen Pavlov, known by the call sign Motorola, a law enforcement source told TASS.
"According to the assassination plan that was hatched, a high-powered explosion was to take place at the entrance of the house in Donetsk where Pavlov, known in the DPR under his call sign Motorola, lived. The plan was to remotely detonate an improvised explosive device, which was to be placed on the roof of the elevator at the time when Pavlov would be in it," the source said.
According to the investigation, the decision to kill Motorola was made some time between June and mid-October 2016. Under instructions from the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), the accused Alexey Pogorelov placed the explosives on the roof of the elevator and detonated them around 8:00 p.m. Moscow time on October 16, 2016.
Earlier, the investigative authorities told TASS that the investigation into the murder of Zakharchenko continues, but the attempted assassination case around Zakharchenko is closed and has been sent to the Southern District Military Court.
Among the four defendants, Alexey Pogorelov is charged with a number of crimes, including espionage, attempting to assassinate a government official, terrorist acts, and participation in a terrorist organization. As law enforcement agencies explained to TASS, he pleaded guilty during the preliminary investigation.
Zakharchenko was one of the leaders of the protest movement in Donbass in 2014, also serving as a commander of a unit of the DPR Militia. In August 2014, he became Chairman of the DPR Council of Ministers, and was elected the head of the republic on November 2, 2014. The man was fatally wounded in an explosion in the center of Donetsk on August 31, 2018. His bodyguard was also killed, and 12 other people were injured.