Russian FSB major-general is seriously injured along with his son when Ukrainian bomb hidden in his mobile phone explodes Yuri Afanasevskii, 64, is in a critical condition in hospital as is his son after attack Russian sources have blamed the Ukrainian SBU secret service for the attack in the Russian-occupied Luhansk People's Republic By WILL STEWART
UPDATED: 16:22 BST, 5 September 2023
A major-general in the Russian FSB security services has been seriously wounded after an explosion at his house in Luhansk.
Yuri Afanasevskii, 64, and his son are in a critical condition in hospital.
Explosives were reportedly planted by a Ukrainian sabotage group in a mobile phone that had been handed to Afanasevskii.
Russian sources blame the Ukrainian SBU secret service for the attack in the Russian-occupied Luhansk People's Republic.
Afanasevskii was head of customs in the area of Ukraine's Luhansk that Vladimir Putin's forces annexed in 2014 and last year claimed to incorporate into Russia.
He was sanctioned by Britain, the EU, Canada, Switzerland and Japan.
Yuri Afanasevskii, a major-general in the Russian FSB security services, has been seriously wounded after an explosion at his house in Luhansk, according to reports
The major-general was shown to have financial interests in the British Virgin Islands.
A woman has been detained and is under investigation for attempted murder and handing an explosive device to the FSB officer.
She gave him 'a mobile phone with an explosive device that was set off after the phone was activated. The attacker is detained, she has already confessed,' said the Russian Investigative Committee.
Investigators had 'interrogated a wide range of people' and 'seized objects of interest' over the explosion.
A report by the Russia Today news channel said the FSB official's wife was also injured in the explosion.
A statement from the Russian Investigative Committee said: 'The man and his son received multiple injuries. They are currently in a medical facility.'
Reports of the attack on Afanasevskii came just days after another senior Russian officer was killed by a drone in Russia while mowing his lawn on his day off.
Alexei Chernykh, deputy chief of a local branch of the anti-corruption police, was blown up by a drone at his home in the Russian village of Shchetinovka, reports said.
The village sits just one mile from Russia's border with Ukraine in the Belgorod Oblast, which has come under frequent drone strikes in recent months as Ukraine has stepped up its cross-border attacks.
The Telegram channel Baza, which has known ties to Russian security services, said a drone dropped a bomb on Chernykh's property on Sunday, August 27.
