Ukrainian rebel leader Pavel Gubarev has regained consciousness after being hospitalized following a failed assassination attempt, the separatist political party that he heads said Tuesday on Twitter.
Gubarev, who founded the Novorossia party in May, was hospitalized Monday after unknown gunmen shot at the car he was traveling in, causing it to veer into a concrete pole.
His wife wrote later on Facebook that he had not suffered any gunshot wounds in the crash and that his vital organs were unharmed. The rebel leader was taken to Russia's southern city of Rostov for treatment, according to Russian media reports.
Gubarev, who also founded the militant group Donetsk People's Militia, served as the governor of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic before being captured in March and held for two months by Ukrainian government forces.
On the eve of the crash, he confirmed his intention to run in the gubernatorial elections in the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Luhansk in November.
Gubarev also said he had an important announcement to make on Monday, without disclosing any further details.
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