SHOCK footage has captured the moment a senior Putin military commander had his legs blown off in a dramatic car bombing in Moscow.
Andrei Torgashov, 50, is seen hopping into a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado in a car park when it explodes in what appears an assassination attempt.
Wild footage captured moment his car burst into flames
The Prado was left in ruins with Torgashov rushed to hospital
Deputy head of Russia’s secret satellite unit Andrei Torgashov was gravely injured in a car bombing attack
Torgashov’s role is both crucial to the war and Russia’s nuclear weapons effort
Russian authorities suspect the blast on Sinyavinskaya Street, north of Moscow, was likely a retaliation strike linked to the war in Ukraine.
A cloud of smoke fills the air and the car is left in ruins as witnesses rush over to help, footage shows.
Torgashov is a military satellite communications commander, a role linked with running operations for both the Ukraine war and Putin’s nuclear weapons arsenal.
His wife Maya was also wounded in the attack.
A witness pulled both of them from the wreck and performed first aid before they were rushed to hospital in an ambulance.
The witness said: “The explosion was very strong.
“The man’s feet were torn off, burned, he was lying all charred.”
The onlooker added that there appeared to be a detonation device in the car.
The colonel, reportedly a GRU spy agency officer, was said to be in a “grave condition”.
Both his legs were amputated in hospital, Tsargrad media reported, while his wife suffered lacerations to her face.
The colonel’s wife was not seriously wounded, with a witness saying she was concussed after being struck by shrapnel.
The commander is deputy head of military unit 33790, the top secret 89th Satellite Communications Centre of the Russian Armed Forces.
The unit works with Russian Strategic Rocket Forces and is a transmitting radio centre for secret military satellite communications.
It’s a crucial cog in Russia’s war machine, maintaining communication with missile troops and between various command posts.
Torgashov’s role is directly linked to the war in Ukraine, according to media reports.
An initial police assessment determined the cause of the blast to be “detonation of an object installed in the car”.
Police Major-General Irina Volk said: “Officers are establishing the circumstances of the crime committed in the north of Moscow.”
Cops were conducting “operational-search measures aimed at establishing all the circumstances of the incident, as well as the detention of persons involved in the commission of the offence”.
Witnesses are seen trying to help following the blast
The commander’s legs were blown off in this car park
He holds a crucial role in a top secret satellite unit
The blast created a scene of chaos with Russian authorities believing it was a Ukrainian attack
Footage shows smoke filling the air with the commander inside the blown-up car