Suspect in car bombing of Russian celebrity arrested

The Nizhny Novgorod regional prosecutor's office said the explosion occurred in the village of Pionersky. The village is located about 70 kilometers (43 miles) from the center of the city of the same name, Nizhny Novgorod, and about 400 kilometers (250 miles) east of the capital Moscow.

"During a manhunt in the Nizhny Novgorod region, police detained a man suspected of involvement in the explosion of a car carrying writer Zakhar Prilepin," said Russian Interior Ministry spokeswoman Irina Volk.

The 30-year-old suspect, who had a criminal record, was arrested near the village of Pionersky, the Russian Interior Ministry added.

A source for Ren TV earlier confirmed that the man was a local resident who had recently received Russian citizenship. The suspect is being questioned by law enforcement, the source added.

The Baza Telegram channel, citing other sources, said Russian police were hunting for a second suspect, described as a 33-year-old man who had rented an apartment on the outskirts of Nizhny Novgorod a day before the assassination of Zakhar Prilepin.

This suspect came to the attention of Russian police because his identity was registered in the Kharkov region of Ukraine.

Tass quoted a source as saying that the suspects involved in the assassination are being hunted down and that the police have their addresses. The police are also said to have identified the apartment where the explosive device that blew up Prilepin's car was assembled.

The Russian Investigative Committee announced earlier in the day that it had opened a criminal investigation into the assassination of writer and political activist Zakhar Prilepin and that forensics had been sent to the scene. The Russian Investigative Committee described the car bomb attack targeting Zakhar Prilepin as a "terrorist act".

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Russian writer and political activist Zakhar Prilepin. Photo Sputnik

The Russian Interior Ministry confirmed that the car bomb explosion injured Mr Prilepin, while the driver was killed.

Nizhny Novgorod region governor Gleb Nikitin said the explosion left Mr Prilepin with "bone fractures that are not life-threatening. The victim is being treated by doctors".

Governor Gleb Nikitin described the deceased as "Prilepin's assistant and comrade", expressing his condolences and sending his condolences to the victim's family and loved ones.

According to NDTV channel regarding the car bombing of political activist Zakhar Prilepin, the Russian Foreign Ministry accused Ukraine of carrying it out with the help of the West.

The Russian Investigative Committee also released images of Mr Prilepin’s badly damaged car. The car appeared to have been overturned by the explosion, with the front end completely destroyed and the front wheels missing. The car was seen lying near a crater that appeared to have been created by the explosion.

Other videos and images on social media appear to show emergency services and law enforcement officers arriving at the scene.

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The scene of the car bombing of Russian political activist Zakhar Prilepin. Photo: RT

Zakhar Prilepin is a Russian writer and influential political commentator with nationalist views. Since 2014, he has devoted much attention to the Ukrainian issue. Many of Zakhar Prilepin's personal articles support Russia's stance on the Donbass region.

Mr Prilepin has served as an adviser to Alexander Zakharchenko, the leader of the separatist forces in the Donbass region of Donetsk. Last August, he co-founded a political group of Russian artists that advocates “cultural space reform” and calls for a boycott of artists who oppose the campaign in Ukraine.

The assassination of political activist Zakhar Prilepin comes amid a series of bombings targeting influential and right-wing figures in Russia in recent times.

Journalist Darya Dugina, daughter of renowned scholar Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bomb attack on a highway about 20 km from Moscow in August 2022.

Last month, Russian military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky was killed and 40 people were injured in a cafe bombing in St. Petersburg.

Mr. Tatarsky has repeatedly written articles expressing support for Moscow’s special military operation. The blogger was also invited to attend the ceremony to annex four separatist regions in Ukraine to Russian territory in September 2022.

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