A SUSPECTED car bomb has destroyed a vehicle belonging to a senior Ukrainian officer in Kyiv.
At the time of the blast, two people were believed to be in or near the vehicle.
One man was hospitalised with shrapnel injuries, though his identity and current condition have not been disclosed.
Kyiv’s prosecutor’s office said the explosion occurred as the rear door of the SUV was being opened.
Authorities have since classified the incident as a terrorist attack, with investigators believing the device was detonated remotely.
Large numbers of law enforcement and security personnel rushed to the scene amid claims the blast was an attempted assassination.
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Police officers, dog handlers, and emergency services were deployed to Kyiv’s Obolonskyi district.
There have been conflicting reports over the vehicle’s ownership.
Some sources claim it belonged to a senior defence official, while others say it was registered to the police.
The incident comes amid a wider pattern of targeted attacks on senior military and security officials by both Ukraine and Russia during their bitter conflict.
It follows a separate suspected car bombing in Moscow that killed three people, including two police officers.
Russian authorities said officers had approached a man behaving suspiciously in southern Moscow overnight when an explosive device was detonated.
The victims were identified as Ilya Klimanov, 24, and Maxim Gorbunov, 25, who both died at the scene along with a third individual believed to have been the bomber.
Gorbunov is survived by a nine-month-old daughter.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said forensic teams are examining the blast site near Yasenevaya Street, including conducting medical and explosive analyses on nearby vehicles.
Only days earlier, a senior Russian general was killed by an explosive device placed under his parked car.
General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, was the head of the Department of Operational Training of the Russian armed forces.
He was personally promoted by Vladimir Putin last year, and was known to have been close to Russia’s Chief of the Defence Staff, Valery Gerasimov.
The Russian authorities initially indicated the officer was gravely wounded, but later confirmed he had died.
Sarvarov had previously served in Chechnya and Syria.
His death marked the third killing of a senior Russian military leader in a public attack this year.
Responsibility for either explosion has not been established.