Governor of Russia's Murmansk Region hospitalised after knife attack

Murmansk (Russia): The governor of Russia's Murmansk Region, Andrei Chibis, was hospitalised after a knife attack in the town of Apatity on Thursday, his press office told Sputnik.

"At the exit from a house of culture [an establishment for recreational activities], a man ran up to him and stabbed him. Now, he is hospitalised in Kirovsk, where he was taken from Apatity, he is currently in the operating room, undergoing surgery. The attacker was detained, all details are being clarified," the office said.

The governor was conscious at the time he was hospitalised after having been attacked, the office told Sputnik, adding that his wounds were not life-threatening.

The office also said that the attacker was apprehended by an officer of the Russian National Guard, Rosgvardia.

Rosgvardia's press office later confirmed that officers of Rosgvardia's special purposes mobile unit (OMON) fired service arms at the attacker and injured him. The attacker was apprehended and handed over to the Russian Internal Ministry, Rosgvardia said.

The head of the Russian Health Ministry's department in the Murmansk Region, Dmitry Panychev, said on Telegram that Chibis underwent abdominal surgery and was in serious but stable condition. The governor remains in intensive care under observation, Panychev added.

The Russian Investigative Committee said on Telegram that investigators are looking into the cause of the attack on the governor. The committee added that the governor and the attacker are receiving medical care at the moment. Investigators are working at the scene to identify and question eyewitnesses, the statement said.

A source in law enforcement agencies told Sputnik that the suspected attacker, a resident of Apatity, had previously been prosecuted for causing harm to health.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev sent a telegram to Chibis and wished him a speedy recovery and return to action, Medvedev's office said.