Prominent Russian Novelist Injured in Deadly Car Bombing

Zakhar Prilepin is the third well-known supporter of Russia's war in Ukraine who was targeted in a bombing inside Russia

Zakhar Prilepin, a prominent Russian novelist and supporter of Russia’s war in Ukraine, was injured in a deadly car bombing in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod oblast on Saturday.

Prilepin said Sunday that he broke two legs in the attack, and his driver was killed by the blast. Moscow blamed the bombing on Ukraine’s intelligence services and said the US was also responsible.

“Responsibility for this and other terrorist acts lies not only with the Ukrainian authorities, but with their Western patrons, in the first place, the United States,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Russian authorities claim a suspect detained for the bombing has admitted to working for Ukrainian intelligence. So far, Ukraine’s security service, the SBU, has not commented on the incident.

Prilepin was the third prominent Russian supporter of the war in Ukraine to be targeted in a bombing since Russia launched its invasion last year. Last month, Vladlen Tatarsky, a blogger and war correspondent, was killed in a cafe bombing in St. Petersburg.

In August 2022, Darya Dugina, daughter of the Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, was killed in a car bombing outside Moscow. The New York Times has reported that the US believes the Ukrainian government was behind Dugina’s killing.

According to RT, Prilepin is known as a hawk in Russia, as he has called for all of Ukraine to be annexed by Russia. He is a military veteran who fought with the Donbas separatists in the civil war that was sparked by the US-backed coup in Kyiv in 2014. Earlier this year, Prilepin enlisted in the Russian National Guard.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.