On April 1, the car of "official" Valeriy Chaika was blown up in the uncontrolled city of Starobilsk, Luhansk region, according to Russian media.

According to Russian media reports, the explosion occurred around 14:00. Later it turned out that the explosion was caused by a device installed in the car of the "administration" representative.

According to preliminary information, the explosion occurred when Chaika was trying to leave the building of the House of Creativity, where he had been working recently.

Later, Russian media confirmed Chaika's death, claiming that he was the deputy head of the "Center for the Service of Educational Organizations". According to the Russians, Chaika's car exploded near a branch of a local university.