Key Putin war supporter is fighting for his life after car bomb tears his Audi Q7 in half in blast that left him seriously wounded and killed his driver
- Pro-Kremlin ideologist Zakhar Prilepin, 47, suffered injuries in a car blast today
- Another driver, Alexander Shubin, 27, was left dead following the incident
- Prilepin was there when actor Steven Seagal joined the pro-Kremlin party
A key Putin war supporter has been left fighting for his life following a suspected car bomb blast that left him ‘seriously wounded’.
Emergency assistance rushed to the pro-Kremlin ideologist Zakhar Prilepin today after a catastrophic explosion reportedly broke his leg and left another man dead.
The incident took place just 100 metres from the spot that Prilepin had dropped his daughter off near Nizhny Novgorod, western Russia, with an explosive device attached to the bottom of another car.
The dead driver of the second car was named Alexander Shubin, 27, from Luhansk, Ukraine – a pro-putin fighter whose call sign was Zloi.
‘Zakhar Prilepin is conscious,’ Shot media reported, ‘He says he doesn’t understand what happened.
Pro-Kremlin ideologist Zakhar Prilepin (pictured), 47, suffered injuries in a car blast today
‘Now the victim is being loaded into an ambulance, our source reports.
‘The Audi exploded near the town of Bor. The wreckage from the car scattered over 50 metres.’
Prilepin is a pro-Kremlin novelist turned politician who joined fighters in the war, having been attacked just after a visit to the Donbas – Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine.
The 47-year-old is a strong supporter of the Z-slogan used by Putin supporters to demonstrate their backing of the war.
He had also been there at the time when Hollywood actor Steven Seagal joined the pro-Kremlin party nearly two years ago.
In 2018, Russia tasked Seagal with improving humanitarian ties with the US at a time when relations between the two countries had begun to deteriorate.
Prior to today’s incident, there was some suggestion that Prilepin’s car had been tailed, with neighbours also allegedly reporting a suspicious ‘bearded man’ and an unregistered car in the area.
A video from the scene showed severe damage to writer’s upturned torn open car and a huge hole in the ground.
‘The car was literally torn in half, and tossed in the air. Zakhar survived by a miracle,’ said one report.
Another driver, Alexander Shubin, 27, was left dead following the explosive incident
The incident took place just 100 metres from the spot that Prilepin had dropped his daughter off near Nizhny Novgorod, western Russia
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported that Prilepin had suffered concussion and ‘fractures’ in the explosion.
Unconfirmed reports also suggested his leg had been blown off in the strike.
Following the incident, Prilepin was airlifted to Moscow for treatment, according to some reports.
Others also claimed he had been flown by helicopter to Semashko Nizhny Novgorod Regional Clinical Hospital.
He was ‘given splints and a brace on his broken leg’, reported Mash.
Today’s attack mirrors a previous car bombing which killed the pro-Putin activist Darya Dugina, 29, in August last year.
There was speculation the bomb was aimed at her father Alexander Dugin, a ultranationalist philosopher known as ‘Putin’s Rasputin’.
A group called ATESH – ‘The military movement of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars’ – claimed responsibility for the attack.
There were immediate calls from pro-war backers for a return of the death penalty.
Today, the Russian foreign ministry immediately put blame on the West for Prilepin’s injuries.
A criminal case has also now been opened.
‘The direct responsibility of the United States and Britain. We pray for Zakhar,’ said spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
WHY UKRAINE HAD REASON TO WANT PRILEPIN DEAD
Zakhar Prilepin, 47, supports Putin and the Russian war against Ukraine, having joined the armed forces in Donbas.
But even before the war kicked off, the Kremlin backer called himself a field commander of a military unit that killed numerous Ukrainian people.
In 2017, a criminal case was opened against Prilepin amidst allegations of his participation in financing and participating in terrorism.
Meanwhile, Prilepin has also worked as a writer and had been shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2006.
The pro-Putin ideologist had also been there at the time when Hollywood actor Steven Seagal joined the pro-Kremlin party nearly two years ago.
In 2018, Russia tasked Seagal with improving humanitarian ties with the US at a time when relations between the two countries had begun to deteriorate.
Prilepin was there when actor Steven Seagal joined the pro-Kremlin party
