Vendetta on a double agent? A former Ukrainian security service (SBU) officer was injured on Friday in an incident involving his vehicle in Moscow, Russian news agencies TASS and Ria Novosti reported.
The victim, Vassili Prozorov, received injuries to his hands and legs, a security source who requested anonymity told Ria-Novosti. Another source in the emergency services said he was injured when an explosive device went off under his SUV near his place of residence in the north of the Russian capital.
Double agent
The Investigative Committee, the body responsible in Russia for carrying out criminal investigations, confirmed an incident having “damaged a vehicle and injured its owner”, without specifying whether there had indeed been an explosion. An investigation has been opened and assessments are underway, he continued. A relative of Vasily Prozorov, also anonymous, told Ria Novosti that his life was not in danger. “He’s alive, he’s doing well,” he said.
In March 2019, Vassili Prozorov gave a press conference in Moscow where he was presented as a defector who had joined Russia. He then declared having worked for the SBU between 1999 and 2018, while ensuring that he had provided information to Russia from April 2014 for “ideological motivation”.
The SBU reacted by claiming that he had been fired in 2018 for shortcomings, notably accusing him of drinking excessively at work and of having “sold” himself to the Russians. “This monster must remember the fate of Judas. It’s a question of time,” the SBU wrote in a statement at the time.
kyiv, however, has not yet commented on Friday's incident. Since the start of the assault on Ukraine at the end of February 2022, several assassinations or assassination attempts have targeted personalities on Russian territory supporting the Kremlin's military offensive.