Senior Russian official slipped into coma after grenade explosion at Ukrainian barbershop

Barbershop after grenade explosion in downtown Luhansk

A separatist senior official is in a coma in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine after a grenade hit a barbershop.< /p>

Acting Lugansk for a haircut.

A former adviser to Mr. Kornet told TASS that the separatist official is in a serious but stable condition.

“He is now in a medically induced coma so that his body can rest and recover,” Vitaly. Kiselev.

«There used to be a 50 percent chance of survival with such injuries, but now our doctors tried their best.»

An investigation into the attempted murder was launched

Authorities did not offer details of the attack, but launched an investigation for attempted murder.

Scene footage shows a barbershop in the city center completely destroyed by the explosion.

Russian-appointed head of Lugansk Leonid Pasechnik told Russian state television that four of the wounded are in serious condition. including one patient on a ventilator.

He would not say if it was Mr. Cornet.

Alleged Ukrainian resistance fighters targeted Russian-appointed officials in the occupied territories. Several officials collaborating with the Russians were killed or seriously injured in car bomb attacks or other attacks.

Known target

Mr Cornet is one of the most senior officials to have been targeted.

< p>However, former governor of the Luhansk region Serhiy Gaidai suggested that Mr. Kornet might have been the victim of a bitter infighting within separatist circles, rather than a Ukrainian conspiracy.

Speaking on Ukrainian public television on Monday night, he suggested that the attack could have been a retaliatory measure by the Luhansk leadership against a politically ambitious rival.