former advisor to pro-Russian Ukrainian politician wounded in Moscow

On the 13th of November, another bombing linked to Russia’s aggression in Ukraine took place in Moscow. An explosive device planted in a car detonated, injuring Serhiy Zavorotniy – an advisor to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov, who is known for his pro-Russian stance, reports Reuters.Zavorotniy, who served as an advisor to Azarov from 2010 to 2014, has been taken to a hospital.Moscow has previously blamed Ukraine for the killings of high-ranking military officials and individuals associated with Russia. As of the 13th of November, Kyiv has provided no comment.The outlet RenTV reported that Zavorotniy lost his left arm in the explosion and was hospitalized with a concussion, broken ribs, and other injuries. A photograph posted on the “Baza” channel on the messaging app Telegram shows a black four-door car with a shattered windshield, damaged doors, and a smashed front bumper.Zavorotniy’s former boss, Azarov, left Ukraine in 2014, following the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych amidst widespread protests. On the 13th of November, Azarov told the Russian state media outlet TASS that he had no further details regarding the explosion, noting only that Zavorotny had survived.Just one day earlier, on the 12th of November, a Russian army colonel was killed in an explosion in St. Petersburg.Azarov and Yanukovych left Ukraine in 2014, following the killing of more than one hundred protesters as security forces attempted to suppress demonstrations. In 2019, a Ukrainian court sentenced Yanukovych—who was not present—to 13 years in prison for treason. Kyiv later also imposed sanctions on him and Azarov. Speaking to the Russian newspaper RBC, Zavorotny had previously described the sanctions against his former boss as an example of “a kind of Ukrainian-style McCarthyism, where local authorities simply ‘snap to attention’ and carry out the orders of their overseas supervisors.”After moving to Russia, Zavorotny became a political commentator, writing articles in which he criticized Ukraine’s security apparatus.