Top Russian official in coma after grenade attack on Ukrainian barber shop
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A senior separatist official is in a coma in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine after being targeted with a grenade while in a barber shop.
Igor Kornet, the “acting” interior minister of Russia-controlled parts of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, was severely injured along with seven other people as he stopped in Luhansk for a haircut.
A former adviser of Mr Kornet told the Tass news agency that the separatist official is in a grave but stable condition.
“He’s in a medically induced coma right now so that his body can rest and recuperate,” Vitaly Kiselyov said.
“Previously, chances for survival with such kind of injuries would be 50 per cent but our doctors now did their best.”
Attempted murder investigation launched
Authorities did not offer details of the attack but launched an investigation on charges of attempted murder.
Footage from the scene showed the barber shop in the city centre completely gutted out by the explosion.
Leonid Pasechnik, the Russia-appointed leader of Luhansk, told Russian state television that four injured people are in a grave condition including one patient on a ventilator.
He would not say if that was Mr Kornet.
Suspected Ukrainian resistance fighters have been targeting Russia-appointed officials across the occupied areas. Several officials who collaborated with the Russians were killed or gravely injured in car bombs or other attacks.
A high-profile target
Mr Kornet is one of the highest-profile officials to have been targeted.
However, Serhiy Gaiday, a former governor of Luhansk, suggested that Mr Kornet may have fallen victim to violent infighting within separatist circles rather than a Ukrainian plot.
Speaking on Ukrainian public TV on Monday night, he suggested the attack may have been a payback from Luhansk leadership against a politically-ambitious rival.
