Key facts
- Sergei Zavorotny, 72, was injured when a car exploded on Kirovogradskaya Street in Moscow on November 13, Russian media reported.
- Zavorotny 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 the explosion was possibly caused by an improvised explosive device planted on the underside of the car.
- Kommersant said the explosion was likely caused by a magnetic mine and that authorities opened an attempted murder investigation.
A car exploded on Kirovogradskaya Street in Moscow's southern Chertanovo District on the morning of November 13, injuring Sergei Zavorotny, a former press secretary to ex-Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, Russian media reported.
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.
Azarov also fled to Russia in 2014 and founded the Ukraine Salvation Committee in July 2015, an organization that presents itself as a Ukrainian government-in-exile.
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.