Car bomb in Moscow critically wounds Mykola Azarov’s press secretary
An IED detonated under the driver's seat on Kirovogradskaya Street on Nov. 13, 2026; Zavorotny, 72, is in critical condition.
Former Ukrainian prime minister Mykola Azarov said on Nov. 13, 2026 that he believes Ukrainian intelligence services are behind an assassination attempt on his long-time press secretary, Sergei Zavorotny, after a car exploded in southern Moscow.
Explosive device placed under the driver's seat, officials say
Zavorotny, 72, was thrown from the vehicle by the force of the blast and remains in critical condition in hospital. Early reports said he suffered shrapnel wounds to the chest and back and serious injuries to his legs.
Preliminary unofficial analyses indicate an improvised explosive device had been placed under the driver's seat and detonated a few minutes after the car left the yard on Kirovogradskaya Street.
Azarov linked the attack to Zavorotny's public work: "I think the main motive was his journalistic activity aimed at exposing the regime in Kyiv," he said.
The explosion in Moscow is the second car-bomb attack in Russia in two days. On Nov. 12 an explosion in Saint Petersburg killed a Russian colonel who is believed to have served in the 6th Guards Army of the Russian Aerospace Forces and Air Defence.
Azarov served as Ukraine's prime minister from 2010 until 2014 and fled to Russia after the Revolution of Dignity. He has said he was granted political asylum after a personal intervention by Vladimir Putin. Ukrainian authorities are seeking Azarov on suspicions of abuse of office, and last year the Pechersky District Court in Kyiv found him guilty of high treason.
Photo: press material from the event
