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Pro-Russian rebel commander killed in Ukraine blast
Pro-Russian rebels pledge revenge for car bomb attack in Luhansk that killed senior military chief Oleg Anashchenko
A Ukrainian forces tank in the eastern town of Avdiivka, which was hit by heavy shelling this week
A senior commander with pro-Russian rebel forces in eastern Ukraine has reportedly been killed in a car bomb attack in Luhansk.
Oleg Anashchenko, military chief of Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), died instantly in the incident that rebel spokesman Andrey Marochko described as an "act of terrorism".
Marochko said that "Ukrainian secret services" were suspected of being behind the attack, which he said was aimed at "destabilising the Republic".
"We will track down the perpetrators of this monstrous act and they will receive the appropriate punishment," he warned.
Kiev officials have denied any involvement in Saturday's bomb attack.
The killing of Anashchenko follows the bloodiest week of clashes between Ukrainian troops and Russian-backed insurgents in rebel-held eastern Ukraine since 2015, with a number of attacks leaving at least 35 people dead.
Earlier this week, the government-held frontline town of Avdiivka in eastern Ukraine was hit by heavy shelling. The town, with an estimated population of 22,000, was left without water and electricity in freezing conditions. Russia and Ukraine, along with the rebels, on Wednesday signed up to calls for a ceasefire and the withdrawal of heavy weapons from Avdiivka by Sunday. However, Ukraine says it is preparing a possible evacuation of the town to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
US President Donald Trump is due to hold talks with his Ukrainian counterpart Petro Poroshenko later today, in which the Ukrainian President is likely to seek assurances that Washington will continue to provide diplomatic support to Ukraine.
The conflict in eastern Ukraine erupted after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula back in March 2014, a move that prompted the US and the EU to impose sanctions on Russia.
A ceasefire was eventually agreed in February 2015 but it has frequently been violated.
Russia has repeatedly denied sending troops and weapons into eastern Ukraine, but admits that Russian "volunteers" fight alongside the rebels.
