A car bomb in Moscow injured Sergei Zavorotniy, a former aide to exiled former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, on Friday, November 13, in Russia’s second such attack in two days. Russia’s Investigative Committee said he was driving the vehicle when it exploded and was taken to hospital, according to BBC reporting.
The explosion followed a fatal car bombing in St. Petersburg on Thursday. Investigators confirmed that a member of the Russian military died in that attack, but did not publicly identify him. Russian media described the victim as a colonel.
Investigators examine Moscow explosion
The Moscow blast occurred in the capital’s southern Chertanovo district, according to Russian media accounts cited by NBC News. The Investigative Committee opened a criminal inquiry and said medical and explosives examinations would form part of its work.
Zavorotniy previously worked for Azarov, who served as Ukraine’s prime minister from 2010 to 2014 before resigning and fleeing to Russia. Azarov told Russia’s TASS news agency that he knew Zavorotniy had survived but had no further information about the explosion, NBC News reported.
Russian outlets reported severe injuries, but detailed accounts of his condition had not been independently confirmed. Investigators’ statement confirmed that he was receiving hospital care.
Fatal blast in St. Petersburg a day earlier
Thursday’s explosion occurred in St. Petersburg’s Pushkinsky district. The Investigative Committee said it had opened a murder investigation into the death of a serviceman, according to Reuters.
Local media published accounts about the victim’s rank, a possible suspect and how the explosive device reached Russia. Those details were not officially confirmed, and Reuters said it could not independently verify the reporting.
Responsibility remains unestablished
No perpetrator was identified in the investigators’ statements cited in the reports. The two explosions occurred on successive days, but the available official information does not establish that they were coordinated or carried out by the same people.
The attacks come amid diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine. Eastern Herald has also reported on US envoys’ meetings with Putin and Zelenskyy and plans for European participation in negotiations. The timing alone does not establish a connection between the bombings and those talks.
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