Gunfire in Donetsk as Rebel Leader Refuses Ukrainian Unity
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Alexander Zakharchenko, the 39-year-old leader of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, says he’s been wounded three times in the conflict between his rebel region and Ukraine’s government. He’s preparing for more war.
The chances of full-scale war are now “very high, 90 percent” after two months of truce, Zakharchenko said in his downtown office, puffing on his third Parliament cigarette of the interview. A disassembled submachine gun lay next to religious icons on a bookshelf. “The enemy is actively preparing for offensive actions, enforcing front line positions.”