Moscow Deems Silence of Int'l Organizations on Terrorist Attack on Prilepin Unacceptable

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The silence of international organizations on the terrorist attack on Russian writer and politician Zakhar Prilepin is unacceptable and the responsibility for the attack lies not only with the Ukrainian authorities but also with the United States, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"The lack of condemnation by Washington of another terrorist attack against a Russian journalist and public figure is self-revealing for the American authorities. The silence of the relevant international organizations is unacceptable," the ministry said on Saturday.

The ministry added that the responsibility for the terrorist attack on Prilepin, as well as for other attacks, lies not only with the Ukrainian authorities but also with "their Western patrons, primarily the US, thanks to whose efforts the anti-Russian project in Ukraine, based on neo-Nazism, has been painstakingly nurtured since the coup in February 2014."

On Saturday, Prilepin's car was blown up on a highway in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region. The driver was killed while Prilepin, the co-chairman of the political party A Just Russia — For Truth, was injured. The Russian Investigative Committee said that Alexander Permyakov, the suspect in the assassination attempt, admitted during interrogation on Saturday that he had acted on the instructions of the Ukrainian special services, having planted an explosive device along the car's path and set it off remotely.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) told Ukrainian media on Saturday that it could neither confirm nor deny its involvement in the terrorist attack on Prilepin.

Nizhny Novgorod Region Governor Gleb Nikitin said on Telegram late on Saturday that Prilepin had undergone successful surgery following the attack. Local residents told Sputnik that Prilepin had both of his legs broken after his car was blown up, but he was conscious.