BOMB BLAST
Dramatic moment car bomb ‘blows up Putin commander’ in Moscow in suspected Ukrainian attack behind enemy lines
Video shows witnesses rushing to help in the aftermath of a suspected assassination attempt
SHOCK footage has captured the moment a senior Putin military commander reportedly had his legs blown off in a dramatic car bombing in Moscow.
Andrei Torgashov, 50, is seen hopping into a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in a car park when it explodes in what appears an assassination attempt.
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Russian authorities suspect the blast on Sinyavinskaya Street, north of Moscow, was likely a retaliation strike linked to the war in Ukraine.
A cloud of smoke fills the air and the car is left in ruins as witnesses rush over to help, footage shows.
Torgashov is a military satellite communications commander, a role linked with running operations for both the Ukraine war and Putin's nuclear weapons arsenal.
His wife Maya was also said to be wounded in the attack.
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Suspected car bomber Yevgeny Serebryakov was later detained after fleeing to Turkey, according to Russian reports.
The alleged terrorist had fled by plane from a Moscow airport to Bodrum.
Russian law enforcement sought his arrest in Turkey with video showing the moment the suspect was apprehended by Turkish police.
Russian state media cast doubt on claims the senior commander was targeted, releasing audio purporting to be Torgashov insisting he was not harmed in the bombing.
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And his wife denied that her husband was injured in the explosion, claiming it was someone else in the car.
The mystery surrounding the alleged assassination attempt deepened today with the conflicting claims about what happened.
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Torgashov, 50, claimed he was not the victim of the car bombing and claimed he was at work at the time of the blast.
“I don’t even live in that area. I live in a completely different place,” he said in a voice recording.
He added: " I never had a Land Cruiser and probably never will."
His wife suggested another person was in the SUV and said:
“My husband is alive, I am alive.
“You understand that you are calling now at the wrong time, I have important calls. I can't say any more.”
However, local media outlets have stuck with their claims that Torgashov was involved in the car bomb attack, with witnesses casting doubt on the couple's denials.
A witness said they had pulled Torgashov and his wife from the car's wreckage and performed first aid before they were rushed to a hospital in an ambulance.
The witness said: "The explosion was very strong.
"The man's feet were torn off, burned, he was lying all charred."
The onlooker added that there appeared to be a detonation device in the car.
The colonel, reportedly a GRU spy agency officer, was said to be in a "grave condition".
Both his legs were amputated in hospital, Tsargrad media reported, while his wife is said to have suffered lacerations to her face.
The colonel’s wife was not seriously wounded, with a witness saying she was concussed after being struck by shrapnel.
The commander is deputy head of military unit 33790, the top secret 89th Satellite Communications Centre of the Russian Armed Forces.
The unit works with Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and is a transmitting radio centre for secret military satellite communications.
It's a crucial cog in Russia's war machine, maintaining communication with missile troops and between various command posts.
Torgashov's role is directly linked to the war in Ukraine, according to media reports.
CONFLICTING REPORTS
Who the attack targeted remains unconfirmed.
Some news outlets said the attack was on a separate officer - a colonel in General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces who is also in the GRU military intelligence agency.
An “informed” source told Interfax: "The owner of the car is a colonel, the head of one of the units of the General Staff.
"An explosive device with a capacity of about 500g of TNT equivalent was placed under the driver’s seat.
"The investigation is pursuing all versions, including ... a Ukrainian trace."
The other colonel may be a namesake, according to some outlets.
Agentsvo news outlet reported: “Another Andrei Torgashev lives on Sinyavinskaya Street.
“And he is the owner of a silver Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 2009.
“A car of this colour was blown up.”
On the street is a GRU block where multiple military intelligence officers live.
COPS INVESTIGATE BLAST
An initial police assessment determined the cause of the blast to be “detonation of an object installed in the car".
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Police Major-General Irina Volk said: "Officers are establishing the circumstances of the crime committed in the north of Moscow."
Cops were conducting "operational-search measures aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, as well as the detention of persons involved in the commission of the offence".
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