A car explosion in southern Moscow, Russia, on Friday injured a former adviser to a pro-Russian Ukrainian politician, in the second apparent attack involving a vehicle explosion in two days.
The victim, Sergey Zavorotny, who previously served as an adviser to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, was rushed to a hospital for medical treatment, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee in Moscow.
The committee said a comprehensive investigation had been launched into the explosion, which occurred on Kirovogradskaya Street in the Russian capital.
Footage from the scene showed a dark grey sports utility vehicle badly damaged, with its windows apparently shattered by the blast.
Azarov served as Ukraine’s prime minister between 2010 and 2014 before fleeing to Russia during the Maidan Revolution, a wave of street protests that led to the collapse of the government at the time.
The incident came a day after a separate car explosion in St. Petersburg killed a Russian serviceman, according to the local Investigative Committee.
The latest blast adds to a series of apparent attacks targeting political and military figures within Russia.
Moscow has previously blamed Ukraine for assassinations involving Russian military officials, although Ukrainian authorities have not commented on the latest explosions.
The developments occurred amid renewed diplomatic efforts by the United States to end Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
US envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff held meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin this week following trilateral talks involving the US, Russia and Ukraine in Abu Dhabi that ended without a clear breakthrough.
After meeting Putin in Moscow, Kushner said, “Both sides have now agreed to expand the next round of negotiations to include our European partners.”
