Leonid Kravchuk, independent Ukraine’s first president, dies aged 88

Former Ukrainian president Leonid Kravchuk (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Leonid Kravchuk, the man who led Ukraine to independence amid the collapse of the Soviet Union and served as its first president, has died at the age of 88, a Ukrainian official said.

Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodymyr Zelensky’s office, confirmed Mr Kravchuk’s death on the social media app Telegram without giving details of the circumstances.