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A security officer stands by a destroyed cafe a day after a blask killed rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko, in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. A blast in a war-themed cafe in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed the most prominent leader of the Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014, rebel officials said. (AP Photo/Alexander Yermochenko)

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A security officer looks through rubble of a destroyed cafe a day after a blask killed rebel leader Alexander Zakharchenko, in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. A blast in a war-themed cafe in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed the most prominent leader of the Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014, rebel officials said. (AP Photo/Alexander Yermochenko)

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Dmitry Trapeznikov, a newly appointed acting regional leader of Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region, talks at a press conference in Donetsk, Ukraine, Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018. A blast in a war-themed cafe in eastern Ukraine on Friday killed Trapeznikov's predecessor, Alexander Zakharchenko, the most prominent leader of the Russia-backed separatists who have fought Ukrainian forces since 2014, rebel officials said. (AP Photo/Alexander Yermochenko)

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FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk, left, addresses the media after shelling in the town of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region was killed Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists' news agency said Friday. Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion that killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, tore through the cafe in the region's principal city.(AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

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FILE - In this Sunday, Aug. 24, 2014 file photo, Alexander Zakharchenko, Prime Minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, is seen in Donetsk, Ukraine. The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region was killed Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists' news agency said Friday. Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, the prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits, file)

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FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, Alexander Zakharchenko, pro-Russian rebel leader speaks during a press conference in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region was killed Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists' news agency said Friday. Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion that killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, tore through the cafe in the region's principal city.(AP Photo/Sergei Grits, File)

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FILE - In this Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2014 file photo, Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of pro-Russian rebels in Donetsk observes damage at a school after shelling in the town of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region was killed Friday, Aug. 31, 2018 by an explosion at a cafe, the separatists' news agency said Friday. Rebel news agency DAN said the afternoon explosion that killed Alexander Zakharchenko, 42, tore through the cafe in the region's principal city. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic, File)

Ukraine rebels say bodyguard died with leader in bombing

By Associated Press AP

PUBLISHED 2:03 PM ET May. 09, 2019

MOSCOW (AP) — The health minister of Ukraine's separatist Donetsk region says a cafe bombing that killed the separatists' leader also killed a bodyguard and wounded 12 others.

Alexander Zakharchenko's death on Friday is re-escalating tensions in the conflict between Russia-backed separatists and Ukrainian forces in eastern Ukraine. Separatists claimed that Ukraine was preparing new offensives.

Zakharchenko was prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic. His death was reported soon after the cafe explosion, but the extent of the casualties was not revealed until DPT health minister Alexander Oprishchenko reported them on Saturday.

The fighting in eastern Ukraine has killed more than 10,000 people since 2014, but mostly has waned in recent years.