The Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation has announced the opening of a criminal case over the bombing of Russian propagandist Zakhar Prilepin's Audi Q7 in Nizhny Novgorod region.
The IC qualified the attempted assassination of Prilepin as a terrorist attack, according to Russian media.
The IC claims that "criminal investigators from the central office of the department and employees of the forensic center of the IC of Russia were sent to the scene."
A video was also posted on social media, showing that the front of the car was completely torn off.
The driver of the car was killed, and Prilepin was injured, he is in serious condition, both his legs are broken, Mash reports. According to the channel, Prilepin is being transported by helicopter to a Moscow clinic.
According to preliminary data, the explosives were under the bottom of the car.
The explosion occurred 50 km from the town of Bor, Baza reports. A source close to the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that the propagandist was returning to Moscow from the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. On the way, he stopped at a cafe in the Nizhny Novgorod region to eat. When the car resumed driving, an explosion occurred. Presumably, the suspects were accompanying Prilepin's car, the RBC source said. They could have attached explosives under the hood of the car when the propagandist was in the cafe.
A crater about 1.5 meters in diameter and 0.7 meters deep was formed at the site of the assassination attempt.
According to preliminary information, the improvised explosive device was detonated remotely; Prilepin was followed and waited until he dropped his daughter off from the car. The driver who was killed in the explosion was Prilepin's personal bodyguard with the call sign "Zloy" who participated in the war against Ukraine and was included in the Myrotvorets database.
The Atesh organization claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt on Prilepin, but the members did not provide evidence of their involvement in the bombing. Prilepin's wife told the police that he had indeed received threats. In January, members of the Atesh movement reported that they intended to "eliminate Prilepin."
UPDATED: The suspect in the organization of the explosion of Prilepin's car has been detained by police, Interfax reported, citing Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk. Earlier, police put two suspects on the wanted list who were seen near the car during one of the stops. The Interception plan was announced in the Nizhny Novgorod region.
From 2016 to 2018, Prilepin, who signed a letter supporting the Russian invasion, took part in military operations in eastern Ukraine. In February 2022, the European Union imposed personal sanctions against the propagandist. In January 2023, Prilepin signed a contract with the National Guard and went to war against Ukraine.
In 2019, Prilepin said in an interview that he led a combat unit that "killed people in large numbers." According to him, no unit in Donetsk battalions could match the performance of his battalion.