A Russian court sentenced Ukrainian national Alexander Permyakov to life in prison for trying to assassinate nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin, federal investigators announced Monday.“The court sentenced Permyakov to life imprisonment in a special regime penal colony,” Russia’s Investigative Committee, which probes major crimes, said.

Special regime colonies are notorious for their harsh conditions.Permyakov was arrested in May 2023 after a car bomb wounded Prilepin and killed his security guard in the Nizhny Novgorod region.

According to his lawyer, Permyakov pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, who claim he acted on instructions from Ukrainian special services.On Monday, a judge found Permyakov guilty of terrorism, terrorist training, arms trafficking and forgery, sentencing him to life in prison.According to investigators, Permyakov entered Russia on a Ukrainian passport after undergoing sabotage training in Ukraine.

He is said to have surveilled Prilepin for an extended period and planned to escape using a forged Kazakh passport.Authorities have issued a search warrant for an unidentified accomplice.Prilepin, known for his novels based on his experiences fighting with Russian forces in Chechnya, has been a vocal supporter of pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014.