A car belonging to Azarov’s former spokesperson exploded in Moscow

An improvised explosive device may have detonated beneath the SUV

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13 Nov 2026

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Вибух автомобіля Сергія Заворотного в московському районі Чертаново

This morning, November 13, an SUV Toyota exploded in Moscow’s Chertanovo district. At the wheel was 72-year-old Serhiy Zavorotny, former press secretary to ex-Prime Minister of Ukraine Mykola Azarov. The man sustained serious injuries.

Russian media outlets Shot, “112” and “Kommersant” report that before the explosion, Zavorotny had driven about 200 meters along Kirovogradskaya Street. The blast threw the driver onto the roadway. Bystanders tried to give him first aid, after which he was hospitalized.

According to media reports, he sustained the following injuries in the explosion:

brain contusion;
broken ribs;
open fracture of the lower leg;
loss of his left arm.

No other injuries have been reported.

The preliminary cause of the explosion may have been the detonation of an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle. Citing a source, “Kommersant” reports that it may have been a magnetic mine with a yield of about 300 grams of TNT equivalent.

Russian law enforcement authorities are investigating the incident as attempted murder by a generally dangerous method under Articles 30 and 105 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. They have also not ruled out reclassifying the case as a terrorist act under Article 205 of the same code.

⚡️ The Toyota Fortuner SUV belonged to former Prime Minister Azarov’s press secretary
The vehicle is registered to Serhiy Zavorotny, a 72-year-old journalist, candidate of historical sciences, and press secretary to former Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov.
In 2015, Zavorotny commented on and helped promote the creation of the so-called “Committee for the Salvation of Ukraine” — a puppet organization in Moscow that Azarov tried to portray as a “government in exile.” In 2018, he presented a book of memoirs and commentary in Russia titled “Yanukovych Surrendered. The State Department Accepted. How Russia Lost Ukraine. Notes of Mykola Azarov’s Adviser.” Investigations have also noted his close ties to Russian intelligence services.

Serhiy Zavorotny was born in 1954 in Khabarovsk, Russia. In the 1970s, he earned a university degree in Kyiv, after which he lived and worked in Ukraine for many years.

He served as the prime minister’s press secretary during the presidency of Viktor Yanukovych. After the Revolution of Dignity in 2014, Zavorotny fled to Russia.

We reported earlier:

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