Aide to fugitive Ukrainian ex-PM wounded in Moscow car bombing

A car bomb exploded in Moscow on Friday, injuring Sergei Zavorotny, a 72‑year‑old former adviser to ex‑Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov, while he was driving his black Toyota, Russia's Investigative Committee said.

Zavorotny, now working as a journalist and commentator, served as a press aide to Azarov in Kyiv until 2014 and left Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych was removed from power. A 2020 US Senate report later described him as an SVR officer involved in influence operations.

According to the Investigative Committee's Telegram post, "Serhiy Zavorotny, a former adviser to the former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, was injured while driving a car. He was taken to one of the city hospitals, where he is receiving medical care." The statement added, "A set of necessary investigative actions is being carried out. A number of examinations will be appointed, including medical and explosives." Azarov told Russian TV that his condition was "rather critical".

The incident follows a car bomb in the Pushkinsky District of St Petersburg that killed a Russian military member, believed to be a senior figure in the 6th Guards Air and Air Defence Forces Army, and both attacks are viewed as part of a series targeting individuals linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Overnight into Friday, Ukraine and Russia exchanged strikes: Ukrainian officials said a hospital was hit and three people, including a 17‑year‑old boy, were killed in Odesa and Zaporizhzhia, while Russian authorities reported a Ukrainian strike on an industrial site in Samara that killed four, another four deaths in an industrial zone in Volgograd, and one fatality in the Bryansk border region. Ukraine described the attacks as retaliation for Russian targeting of its cities.