The key facts

  • Sergei Zavorotny, a former adviser to Nikolai Azarov, was wounded in Moscow; the Investigative Committee of Russia is conducting an investigation.
  • A day earlier, a similar car explosion killed a Russian serviceman in the Pushkin district of St. Petersburg.
  • Talks in Dublin continue: Kushner said Putin is ready to accept European participation, but the participation of a British adviser fell through due to delayed meetings.

Explosion in Moscow and Its Victim

On Friday morning, a car exploded in Moscow with Sergei Zavorotny behind the wheel — a former adviser to Nikolai Azarov, who served as Prime Minister of Ukraine until 2014 and is considered pro-Russian. According to the Investigative Committee of Russia, the wounded man was taken to one of the city's hospitals, where he is receiving medical care. The agency stated that a 'necessary set of investigative actions' is being carried out and that expert examinations will be ordered, including medical and explosive-related ones. According to unconfirmed reports from Russian sources, Zavorotny lost his left hand and suffered a brain injury, broken ribs, and a broken right leg.

Second Explosion in Two Days

This is already the second such attack in two days: the day before, on Thursday, a car explosion in the Pushkin district of St. Petersburg killed a Russian serviceman. In Russia, both incidents are described as a continuation of a series of attacks on pro-Russian figures. The explosions occurred against the backdrop of ongoing exchanges of strikes between Russia and Ukraine: Ukrainian authorities reported a hit on a hospital and three deaths, including a 17-year-old teenager, in the Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions; Russia, for its part, said four people were killed in a strike on an industrial facility in the Samara region, four more in a drone attack on an industrial zone in the Volgograd region, and one person died in the border Bryansk region. The Ukrainian side calls its strikes a response to constant shelling of its cities.

Talks in Dublin Proceed in Parallel

This week, informal talks on ending the war are taking place at a military airbase near Dublin. Earlier, American envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. On Thursday in Dublin, Kushner said Putin is ready to accept Europe's participation in the peace process; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed the promise of European involvement. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said at an informal meeting of the EU Council that the European voice should not be limited only to EU member states, which opens the way for the United Kingdom as well. However, the participation of British national security adviser Jonathan Powell in the talks did not take place: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced his participation, but a few hours later Downing Street said the meetings had been delayed and the adviser would no longer be able to join. Despite intensive negotiations, efforts to achieve peace have not yet succeeded; since February 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, about a fifth of the country remains under occupation.

A car with its bonnet and left door exploded out is visible as Russian investigators look at the wreckage on a street.Image source, Reuters
Image caption,

The site of a car explosion which wounded Sergei Zavorotni in Moscow on Friday

Putin (left) shakes the hand of Kushner (right) while Witkoff (centre) looks on, all wearing suits inside the Kremlin in Moscow on Thursday.Image source, Sputnik / Pool via AFP
Image caption,

Witkoff and Kushner's visit to Moscow was the latest of many trips the US envoys have made to see Vladimir Putin

File pic of Naro-Fominsk - a Russian corvette-style missile shipTaoiseach Micheál Martin is wearing a suit with a white shirt. His tie is navy with white spots. He's wearing a green pin.A mother and her two children sit on a bed in a dark flat in Kyiv. The mother has her arms around both children, and her daughter is holding their cat. They are all dressed in warm winter clothes.