A series of bombings in Russia... Military officer, pro-Russian Ukrainian personnel ideology

(Rome = Yonhap News) Correspondent Min Gyeong-rak = Car bomb attacks targeting military officers and pro-Russian Ukrainian figures occurred one after another in Russia.

According to the Associated Press on the 14th (local time), the car driven by former Ukrainian Prime Minister Sergei Zavorotny was attacked in Moscow the previous day when an explosive device exploded.

Zavorotny suffered serious injuries in the attack and is being treated at a hospital, the Russian Federal Investigative Committee said.

Zavorotny was identified as a Russian foreign intelligence agent in a 2016 report by the U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee on Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election. He worked as an aide to Prime Minister Mykola Azarow when the pro-Russian Ukrainian government was in power in the early 2010s. He also ran an online media outlet criticizing Ukrainian authorities.

Former Prime Minister Azarou, who currently resides in Russia, claimed, “Zavorotny was targeted for criticizing the Ukrainian authorities.”

On the 12th, a bomb planted in a car exploded in St. Petersburg, killing a senior Russian military officer. The Russian Federal Investigative Committee did not confirm the specific identity of the deceased or the person behind the attack.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, bombings targeting people involved in the war have continued in Russia. The Russian government blames Ukraine for the attack.