According to preliminary information, the monument located near the Ukrainian Academic Music and Drama Theater has been blown up. Local news outlets report that it is the monument to the paratroopers of Lugansk People's Republic.
The reports noted that the monument was aflame after the blast; firefighters were on the scene trying to stamp the fire out.
В центре Луганска взорвали памятникам боевикам «ЛНР» https://t.co/EXl7zLyvET Сильный взрыв произошел сегодня вечером, 18 сентября в центре pic.twitter.com/NBYNSsZGu2
— Луганск 0642.ua (@Lugansk0642ua) 18 сентября 2017 г.
Soon after the incident, LPR Interior Minister Igor Kornet said that the investigators had already been sent to the explosion site. The LPR official added that Kiev could be behind the blast and nobody was injured in the explosion.
The Lugansk people's republic was founded in 2014 when local residents refused to recognize the new Ukrainian authorities that came to power as a result of a military coup. The event was followed by the armed conflict launched by the new government in Kiev.
