MOSCOW (AP) — The leader of the Russia-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region was killed Friday 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.

Zakharchenko was prime minister of the self-declared Donetsk People's Republic, which along with a separatist republic in neighboring Luhansk, has fought Ukrainian forces since 2014. More than 10,000 people have died in the conflict.

The rebellion in Donetsk and Luhansk arose soon after pro-Russia Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was driven from power amid mass protests in February 2014. Russian-speakers predominate in those regions, and separatist sentiment skyrocketed.

Encouraged by Russia's annexation of Crimea, which also came after Yanukovych's ouster, rebel leaders initially hoped their regions would be absorbed by Russia as well.

Zakharchenko became prime minister of the DPR in August 2014.

The cafe hit by the explosion, named Separ, was separatist-themed and had camouflage netting hanging from its eaves, according to recent photographs.