Moscow, 5 April 2024 (dpa/MIA) – In north-west Russia, a senior politician from the Kremlin party United Russia has been seriously injured in a knife attack, according to the authorities.

The 45-year-old governor of the Murmansk region, Andrey Chibis, had undergone surgery and was in a serious condition, said the doctor treating him.

The suspected perpetrator was injured during his arrest by security forces and is also receiving medical assistance, the Russian Investigative Committee announced overnight.

The background to the attack is being investigated. Assassinations of representatives of the power apparatus are rare in Russia.

According to the investigators, Chibis had met with citizens in the town of Apatity on the Kola Peninsula for a discussion, after which he was attacked with a knife by a resident. Eyewitnesses are being questioned in order to clarify the motives for the crime.

Local media reported that the suspect was a 42-year-old railway employee who is said to have testified that an inner voice had ordered him to attack the governor. The governor suffered a stab wound to the abdomen.

A spokeswoman for the governor said on Russian state television that Chibis had made it to his car on his own after the attack. He was then driven to hospital and also informed his wife himself in order to calm her down.

The suspect is being interrogated, the spokeswoman said.

Photo: MIA archive