An assassination attempt on Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin, known for his pro-war stance, took place in the city of Nizhny Novgorod, Russian state news agency TASS reports.
Telegram channels write that an Audi Q7 exploded while Prilepin was inside. The driver was killed in the blast. Prilepin is currently receiving medical aid.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced that it has opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of Zakhar Prilepin’s car. The Russian Ministry of the Interior reported that police have arrested a suspect in the case. The ministry did not give details as to the man’s identity.
“So far, we have not managed to determine what happened. Zakhar Prilepin is fine,” the author’s press service wrote.
According to media outlet RBC, Prilepin was injured in the attack. Their sources say that Prilepin was coming back to Moscow from the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk “people’s republics”. The suspects reportedly followed Prilepin’s car. The writer stopped to have a meal in the Nizhny Novgorod region. A blast took place right after Prilepin got back into the car was started again.
The explosive device may have been planted under the bonnet of his car while Prilepin was in the café. RBC reports that the writer suffered leg wounds as a result of the attack.
The governor of Nizhny Novgorod region, Gleb Nikitin, assured that Prilepin was “doing fine” and that law enforcement was investigating the incident. The regional Investigative Committee said its officers are on the way to the crime scene.
Emergency services told Russia’s news agency Interfax that the main version of events is “the detonation of an improvised radio-controlled explosive device”.
Other versions, including that of a vehicle malfunction, will also be considered. Prilepin may be taken to Moscow for medical treatment, he is allegedly in critical condition.
The Crimean Tatar partisan movement Atesh has claimed responsibility for the attack. “The surprise worked. Zakhar is in the hospital”, the latest post on Atesh’s Telegram channel reads. The claim can be neither verified nor disproven at the present moment.
