Russian nationalist writer Zahar Prilepin, a staunch supporter of the Kremlin’s military campaign in Ukraine, was injured and his driver died in Russia this Saturday when an “explosion” occurred in his car, authorities said, covering Kiev and the West to blame.

In recent weeks, drone strikes, sabotage and alleged attacks on Russian territory have increased.

The writer’s driver died in the explosion on Saturday, according to Russia’s Commission of Inquiry, responsible for the country’s main investigations, which opened an investigation into a “terrorist act”.

“One person was killed in the explosion and the writer Zajar Prilepin, who was in the car, was injured,” the interior ministry said in a statement.

It then indicated that a suspect born in 1993 with a criminal record had been detained in the Nizhny Novgorod (central-west) region, where the incident took place.

The 47-year-old writer is a leading figure in the Russian literary scene and has translated in numerous countries. In 2014, he pledged since 2014 in favor of the pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, with whom he fought.

A hospital source who wished to remain anonymous told Interfax that the writer’s condition is “serious.” “It was decided not to transfer it to Moscow and to operate it in Nizhny Novgorod,” he reported.

According to the Commission of Inquiry, the writer was “with his family” in his car when the explosion took place.

“Zakhar (Prilepin) suffered minor fractures, his life is not in danger,” the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region said on Telegram.

After learning the first details, Russian diplomacy spokesman Maria Zajárova accused Ukraine, the United States, the United Kingdom and NATO of being behind this “terrorist” act.

“Direct responsibility of the United States and the United Kingdom. We pray for Zajar,” the spokeswoman wrote on Telegram.

“Responsibility for this act of terrorism and others rests not only with Ukraine, but also with its Western godfathers, primarily the United States,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.