Would-be assassin blows himself up attempting to plant bomb under Ukrainian agent's car

A bomb exploded in a Kiev supermarket carpark on Thursday morning in an apparent attempt on the life of a Ukrainian intelligence agent – but which instead left the would-be assassin without a hand.



A man is seen walking up to a black Chevrolet car in CCTV footage released by local media. He disappears behind the car, and a few seconds later a blast throws the car half a metre up into the air in a cloud of smoke.



A journalist associated with Ukrainian security services suggested that the man had been trying to kill the owner of the car, an intelligence officer working in eastern Ukraine.



“He tried to plant a bomb, but the device went off prematurely,” Yury Butusov wrote on Facebook.



The assailant, who is now in hospital, is understood to be a citizen of the central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan. But Mr Butusov alleged he was working on Moscow’s orders.



“The war with Russia continues, and the frontline is here, right in the capital,” he wrote, without citing evidence. The authorities in Moscow are yet to comment on the case.