Car explodes in Moscow, reportedly injuring Russian Defense Ministry officer

Update: Andrey Torgashov’s wife says that he is not the man injured in the explosion. According to her, a different person was in the car, and Torgashov is fine. Kommersant reported that due to the “identity of the injured person,” police are investigating the possible involvement of Ukrainian special services. Mykhailo Podolyak, a top adviser to the Zelensky administration, said that Kyiv had nothing to do with the explosion. “As far as I understand, there was faulty equipment there. We, of course, have nothing to do with this,” he stated.

A car exploded in Moscow on Wednesday, injuring the owner and a passenger, according to the press service of Russia’s Investigative Committee. Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk stated that an “unidentified object” placed in the car caused the explosion.

The Telegram channel Astra reported that the car belonged to Andrey Torgashov, the deputy head of a military satellite communications center in the Moscow region. In turn, the Telegram channel Baza wrote that an officer of Russia's Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) was in the car. Kommersant also reported that the injured man is a Defense Ministry officer who served in the GRU and was responsible for communications in his unit.

The man reportedly lost his legs in the explosion, according to multiple Telegram channels. Baza wrote that a woman who was also in the car suffered lacerations to her face.

RIA Novosti, citing a law enforcement source, reported that one theory being investigated is that the explosion was “an assassination attempt related to the victim’s professional activities.”