A Russian writer who supports the war against Ukraine was seriously injured in a car explosion on Saturday. The blast that killed the driver left Zakhar Prilepin with a broken leg and concussion.
A spokeswoman for Russia’s Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, called the blast a “terrorist bomb attack,” according to The New York Times, and reported that a device was placed under Prilepin’s vehicle.
The incident happened in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, about 250 miles from Moscow, the Associated Press reported.
A Ukrainian suspect previously convicted of robbery has been arrested.
“The search for possible accomplices continues,” Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in its statement, according to the BBC. Nizhny Novgorod Governor Gleb Nikitin said an investigation into the cause of the blast had been launched.
Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin poses for a photograph at his apartment in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in 2008.
STRINGER
Prilepin, a staunch supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2014 following the annexation of Crimea, has boasted about his military involvement in reuniting Ukraine with the Kremlin, according to Al Jazeera.
He is the third supporter of Ukraine’s invasion of Russia to have been the target of an explosives attack since the war began in 2022. Darya Dugina – the daughter of one of Putin’s right-hand men – was killed outside Moscow in August and is military blogger Vladimir Tatarsky was killed in a cafe in St Petersburg in April.
According to The Associated Press, Zakharova blamed Ukraine, claiming that “Washington and NATO nurtured another international terrorist cell.”
“[It’s the] the direct responsibility of the US and UK,” she said. We pray for Zakhar.”