Moscow car bomb wounds Sergei Zavorotniy, former spokesman for Ukraine's ex-premier Azarov — the second car bombing in Russia in two days
A car exploded on Kirovogradskaya Street in Moscow's Chertanovo district on Friday morning, wounding Sergei Zavorotniy, a former press secretary to Ukraine's ex-prime minister Mykola Azarov, Russian media reported. Russia's Investigative Committee has opened an investigation, a day after a serviceman was killed by a car bomb in St Petersburg. No one has claimed responsibility for either explosion.
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Key points
- A car exploded in Moscow's Chertanovo district on Friday morning; the Investigative Committee has opened an investigation.
- Russian media say the car belonged to Sergei Zavorotniy, a former spokesman for Ukraine's ex-premier Mykola Azarov, and that he was hospitalised.
- It is the second car bombing in Russia in two days — a serviceman was killed in St Petersburg on Thursday.
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- No one has claimed responsibility, and Ukraine has not commented.
What happened
Sergei Zavorotniy served as press secretary to Mykola Azarov, Ukraine's prime minister from 2010 to 2014 under President Viktor Yanukovych. Both men fled to Russia in 2014 after Yanukovych was ousted in the Euromaidan protests, and Zavorotniy has since broadcast pro-Kremlin positions from Russia, according to the Moscow Times.
Car bombs and other attacks have repeatedly targeted Russian military officials and figures linked to Moscow's war effort inside Russia. On Thursday a serviceman was killed in Shushary, in the same St Petersburg district where a major and his wife were attacked in August. Who carried out Friday's Moscow bombing is not yet known.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- That a car exploded in Moscow's Chertanovo district on Friday morning and investigators have opened a case.
- That Russian media identify the car's owner as Sergei Zavorotniy and report him hospitalised.
- That a serviceman was killed by a car bomb in St Petersburg the day before, and no one has claimed responsibility for either attack.
What we don't know yet
- Who planted the device, and whether the Moscow and St Petersburg bombings are connected.
- Zavorotniy's current condition beyond the hospitalisation and injury reports, which investigators have not confirmed.
- Whether Ukraine or any other party was involved — no evidence has been published and no claim of responsibility made.
Claim by claim
Show all claims (4)
Why this label: The committee's opening of an investigation is carried by Reuters; the Kyiv Independent independently reports the street and district, and that Kommersant says the case is being treated as attempted murder.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The owner's identity and his hospitalisation rest on Russian media reporting carried by both outlets; investigators have not publicly named him in the reporting read.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The injury and device details come through Telegram channels and the Moscow Times in a single chain and have not been confirmed by investigators.
On the ladder: the evidence so far sits low — early, single or social sources. We publish the claim as a claim, never as fact.
Why this label: The St Petersburg killing is checked on its own page on this site. No claim of responsibility for either bombing had been reported when this page was published.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why it matters
Two car bombings in two days, in Russia's two largest cities, extend a pattern of attacks deep inside Russia while its war on Ukraine continues. Until investigators publish findings, what connects the two explosions — and who is behind them — remains an open question with direct bearing on the war's reach.
Background
A car carrying St Petersburg major Sergei Sechkov and his wife exploded in Shushary, killing him and seriously injuring his wife.
A Russian serviceman was killed when his car exploded in Shushary, in St Petersburg's Pushkinsky district; investigators opened a murder case.
A car exploded in Moscow's Chertanovo district, wounding the man Russian media identify as Sergei Zavorotniy.
Update history
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- Latest
Published in Checking state — the investigation has been opened, but who carried out the bombing, and whether it is connected to Thursday's St Petersburg killing, is not yet known.