Zakhar Prilepin, a well-known pro-Kremlin writer and Russian nationalist, was injured in a car explosion on Saturday in Nizhny Novgorod. The incident resulted in the death of one person. Prilepin was travelling with his family at the time of the blast. He suffered injuries to his legs and was hospitalized. The Russian Investigative Committee is investigating the incident.
Prilepin is known for his pro-war views and has been a vocal supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s February 2022 offensive. He joined pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and fought by their side. The incident follows a series of attacks and sabotage on Russian territory.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova blamed the West and Ukraine for the explosion without providing any evidence. She said the blast was the “direct responsibility of the United States and Britain” and that it was another international terrorist cell fed by the Kyiv regime. However, Kyiv denied the charges.
In April, a pro-Kremlin military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in an explosion caused by a statuette rigged with explosives. Last August, Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent ultranationalist intellectual, was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow, which Russia also blamed on Ukraine.
The incident involving Prilepin is being closely watched as it comes amid fighting in Ukraine.
