Moscow car bombing injures former Ukrainian PM adviser after St Petersburg death
Sergei Zavorotnyi, 72, was left in a coma after a remote device exploded under his vehicle on Friday, one day after a military officer died in a similar attack.
By Aiko Petrov ·
Sergei Zavorotnyi, a 72-year-old former adviser to a Ukrainian prime minister, was critically injured in a car bombing in Moscow on Friday. The explosion occurred while he was driving. Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that he was hospitalized. The committee did not name specific suspects and opened a criminal inquiry into the incident.
The attack followed a similar event in St Petersburg the previous day. A military serviceman was killed by a bomb planted in his vehicle on Thursday. The Investigative Committee did not identify the victim at the time. The Fontanka news outlet reported the victim was a colonel, while other online media described him as a senior air force officer. Al Jazeera’s Yulia Shapovalova reported that preliminary information indicated the victim was a military serviceman rather than a colonel of the Russian Air Force.
In both cases, an explosive device was placed under the car and detonated remotely while the occupants were driving. Shapovalova stated that Russian authorities consider these attacks to be orchestrated by the Ukrainian side. Moscow has generally blamed Kyiv for a series of bombings and shootings targeting individuals involved in the Ukraine conflict.
Zavorotnyi previously worked as a journalist for the daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. He later served as an adviser to Mykola Azarov, who was prime minister under President Viktor Yanukovych. Yanukovych fled to Russia in February 2014 after being forced from office by protesters. Azarov also lives in Russia. He told state-run TV that he was shocked by the attack. Azarov said he believes Zavorotnyi was targeted because he criticized the Ukrainian government.
Zavorotnyi wrote a book about the ouster of Yanukovych. He also ran an online outlet that was critical of Ukrainian authorities. REN TV reported that Zavorotnyi lost his left arm in the explosion. The channel said he suffered multiple other injuries and remained in a coma.
Ukrainian authorities have not commented on either the Moscow or St Petersburg bombings.
