Vladimir Putin's Top Ally And Head Of Duma Narrowly Escapes Death

Vyacheslav Volodin, who is one of Russian President Vladimir Putin's top allies, narrowly escaped death after an office he was in was hit by Ukrainian missiles. The attack happened just minutes after he left.

The former deputy head of the Kremlin was reportedly meeting separatist officials in Donetsk when he was targeted Tuesday, reported Fox 3 Now.

According to Switzerland Times, the 58-year-old is an important man in Putin’s regime. Apart from being the chairman of the State Duma, which is the lower house of the Russian parliament, the hardliner is the speaker of the Russian parliament. The uber-loyalist hardline politician has previously been tipped as a possible Putin successor.

It was the private office of Denis Pushilin, who is the leader of the pro-Putin puppet state Donetsk People’s Republic, that was hit by missiles, reported The Sun. Ukraine forces also hit the nearby room where Volodin, once a vice-premier of Russia, had held a meeting. He and top Russia parliamentary aides had been meeting separatist officials.

Volodin and the aides were said to be meeting separatist officials to discuss integrating the Donetsk region, which is still legally part of Ukraine, into Russia. Just "minutes" after they left, the office was destroyed in the attack by Ukraine. The upper floors of the building had experienced significant damage. The facade of the building was hit by shells. They had "partially destroyed the right wing and the top floor."

Though Volodin and other aides managed to escape death, about six people were injured in the attack after a missile also hit a nearby hotel. Three people were reportedly killed, including a young man aged 18.

The news of the attack comes just hours after another top pro-Putin official in occupied Ukraine was killed in a car bomb. The blast which killed 40-year-old Ivan Sushko was captured on CCTV. He was killed when an explosion ripped apart his car. Sushko, who was an official in occupied Zaporizhzhia region, was reportedly taking his adopted daughter to kindergarten when he was targeted. The girl was left unharmed. Senior Russian official in the occupied region, Vladimir Rogov, said that an "explosive device had been placed under his car seat."