Car explosion in Moscow reportedly injures ex-Azarov press secretary
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A car exploded on Kirovogradskaya Street in Moscow's southern Chertanovo District on the morning of Nov. 13, reportedly injuring Sergei Zavorotny, former press secretary to ex-Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, according to Russian media.
Zavorotny served as press secretary during the Presidency of Viktor Yanukovych in Ukraine and fled to Russia in 2014 after Yanukovych's ouster following the Euromaidan Revolution.
In Russia, he continued to publicly broadcast pro-Kremlin and anti-Ukrainian positions, opened his own media outlet, and wrote a book titled "Yanukovych Surrendered, the State Department Accepted: How Russia Lost Ukraine," claiming the Euromaidan Revolution was a coup orchestrated by Western intelligence agencies, according to the independent Russian Moscow Times.
According to Russian Telegram channels, the car, a black Toyota Fortuner registered to the 72-year-old Zavorotny, drove for about 200 meters before a blast hit the driver's side and blew out the left-side doors, the Moscow Times added. The blast reportedly blew Zavorotny onto the road. Bystanders started first aid, and he was taken to hospital with a brain contusion, broken ribs, an open fracture of the tibia, and the loss of his left arm, the Moscow Times reported.
Several Russian media outlets reported that the explosion was possibly caused by an improvised explosive device (IED) planted on the underside of the car, while Russian state-controlled media Kommersant said the explosion was likely caused by a magnetic mine.
Kommersant also said that Russian authorities opened an investigation into the case as attempted murder.
A day prior, on Nov. 12, a Russian serviceman was killed when his car exploded in Shushary near St. Petersburg, Russia's Investigative Committee said.
Russian news outlet Fontanka reported the deceased was an Air Force colonel, killed at around 7 a.m. local time in an explosion on the Kolpinskoye Highway, near a Lenta supermarket and a Tatneft gas station.
On Aug. 27, a car carrying St. Petersburg Major Sergei Sechkov and his wife exploded in the same area, killing Sechkov and seriously injuring his wife.
Russian military officials and other figures involved in Moscow's full-scale invasion have previously been targeted in car bombings and other attacks, sometimes in Ukrainian-led operations.
