MOSCOW: In the latest string of attacks blamed on Ukraine and the West, a car explosion wounded one of the Russia’s best-known writers and nationalists, Zakhar Prilepin, and killed another person on Saturday, authorities said.

The explosive device detonated in an Audi Q7 car carrying Mr Prilepin in the Nizhny Novgorod region, said the Russian Investigative Committee, which probes serious crimes.

Mr Prilepin is a vocal supporter of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine, where he fought alongside pro-Russian separatists in 2014. “The famous writer was injured, and the person driving died,” the committee said.

The blast comes on the heels of alleged drone strikes and sabotage attempts in Russia, which is gearing up for the popular May 9 celebrations of the Soviet victory over the Nazis.

It published images of a partly destroyed, overturned car and said the writer had been taken to a medical facility.

The committee opened an investigation for terrorism after the attack, and the interior ministry said it detained a man who “may be involved” in the explosion.

Shortly after the blast, Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine and the West. “Washington and Nato fed another international terrorist cell — the Kyiv regime,” Zakharova said on Telegram. She said the blast was the “direct responsibility of the United States and Britain.”

Published in Dawn, May 7th, 2023