A failed assassination attempt targeted a pro war Russian writer east of the Russian capital

Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin, who supports the invasion of Ukraine, was seriously injured, Saturday, in the explosion of his car, prompting Moscow to accuse Ukraine and the West of being behind this attack.

The explosion, which killed the Prilepin’s driver, occurred at a time when Russia is being subjected to an increasing number of strikes by drones, sabotage and attacks, without it being clear who is responsible for them.

The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of being behind these operations, which Kiev denies at a time when its forces are preparing a large-scale attack, as celebrations in Russia approach the anniversary of the victory over the Nazi forces on the ninth of May.

On Wednesday, an attack by two drones, according to Russia, targeted a Kremlin building, and Kiev denied any involvement in that.

The Russian Ministry of the Interior announced in a statement, “A person was killed in the explosion and the writer Zakhar Prilepin, who was in the car, was wounded,” and later confirmed the arrest of a suspect born in 1993 with criminal record in the Nizhny Novgorod region, where the attack took place.

Russian investigators reported Saturday night that the arrested suspect acted in accordance with instructions from the Ukrainian security services.

The Investigative Committee said in a statement that the suspect, Alexander Permyakov, “said during his interrogation that he acted on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services”.

According to the local Russian Interfax news agency, quoting a medical source, said Prilepin was in a serious condition.

“A decision was made not to transfer him to Moscow and to have him operated on in Nizhny Novgorod,” the source added.

Earlier, Gleb Nikitin, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region (center-west), from which the writer hails, wrote on the Telegram application that “Zakhar has minor fractures, and there is no danger to his life”.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine, the United States, Britain and NATO of being behind this terrorist act, and held Telegram “direct responsibility of the United States and Britain”.

According to the investigation committee, which spoke of a “terrorist act”, Zakhar Prilepin was in his car “with his family” when the explosion occurred at around 11:00 (8:00 GMT).

Zakhar Prilepin is considered a prominent figure on the literary scene and whose works have been translated in many countries, supported the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine and fought alongside them since 2014.

Since then, he has been regularly going to eastern Ukraine and defending President Vladimir Putin and his attack on Ukraine that began on February 24, 2022.

He also actively participates in the nationalist and traditional movements in Russia and remains present in the Russian media.

Zakhar Prilepin, was subjected to European sanctions since the end of February 2022, last year, participated in a parliamentary group charged with exposing elements of cultural circles in Russia who express anti-Russian positions.

Before endorsing Putin, this former combatant was active in the two Chechen wars in the nineties of the last century, for a period with the opposition in the ranks of the National Bolshevik Party led by writer Eduard Limonov (1943-2020).

Prilepin is not the first supporter of the war in Ukraine to be targeted for attack.

In early April, the pro-invasion military blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in a booby-trapped statue in a cafe in central St. Petersburg owned by the head of the Wagner Group, Yevgeny Prigozhin.

Last August, Darya Dugina, the daughter of a the famous Russian philosopher close to the Kremlin, Alexander Dugin, was killed when her car exploded in the Moscow region.

On Saturday, the Russian Foreign Ministry held the United States responsible for a car explosion that killed one person and injured Russian nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin, who supports the invasion of Ukraine.

In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the responsibility for this and other terrorist acts rests not only with Ukraine, but also with its Western sponsors, led by the United States, and condemned “the silence of the relevant international organizations,” calling it is unacceptable.