A Russian writer in favor of the war against Ukraine was seriously injured in a car explosion Saturday. The blast, which killed the driver, left Zakhar Prilepin with a broken leg and a concussion.
A Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova called the explosion a “terrorist bombing,” according to The New York Times, reporting that a device had been planted under Prilepin’s vehicle.
The incident took place in the Nizhny Novgorod in Russia, about 250 miles from Moscow, the Associated Press reported.
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A Ukrainian suspect, who had previously been convicted of robbery, has been detained.
“The search for possible accomplices continues,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in its statement, according to the BBC. Nizhny Novgorod Gov. Gleb Nikitin said an investigation has been launched into the cause of the explosion.
Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin poses for a picture in his flat in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, in 2008.
STRINGERPrilepin, a firm supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin since 2014 after the annexation of Crimea, has bragged about his military involvement to reunite Ukraine with the Kremlin, according to Al Jazeera.
He is the third proponent of Russia’s Ukrainian invasion to have been targeted in an explosive attack since the war started in 2022. Darya Dugina—the daughter of one of Putin’s right-hand men—was killed just outside of Moscow in August, and military blogger Vladimir Tatarsky was killed in a St. Petersburg cafe in April.
Zakharova blamed Ukraine, according to The Associated Press, and claimed that “Washington and NATO have nursed yet another international terrorist cell.”
“[It’s the] the direct responsibility of the U.S. and Britain,” she said. We’re praying for Zakhar.”
