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Russian writer wounded in car bombing brought out of drug-induced sleep — spokesperson

Zakhar Prilepin is in as good spirits, Yelizaveta Kondakova added

Zakhar Prilepin Gavriil Grigorov/TASS

Zakhar Prilepin

© Gavriil Grigorov/TASS

MOSCOW, May 7. /TASS/. Russian writer Zakhar Prilepin, who survived an assassination attempt on Saturday, has been brought out of drug-induced sleep, his spokesperson Yelizaveta Kondakova told reporters on Sunday.

"He is in as good spirits as can be given the situation. He’s well. He passed along his thanks to his family," she said.

Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region Gleg Nikitin confirmed this information. "As for Zakhar’s condition: he has been brought out of drug-induced sleep and is conscious; doctors say that he is stable," he wrote on Telegram.

On Saturday morning, an explosive device went off in Zakhar Prilepin’s Audi Q7. The incident, which occurred in the village of Pionersky in Russia’s Nizhny Novgorod Region, left the writer wounded and killed his driver. There were no other casualties, the police said. A criminal case was launched under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code (Act of Terrorism). Law enforcement officials told TASS that a sabotage group might have been behind the attack. A man named Alexander Permyakov, detained on suspicion of being involved in the assassination attempt, testified to having acted on instructions from Ukrainian intelligence agencies.

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