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A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb explosion in Moscow, the country’s authorities said on Monday.
According to Russian media reports, an explosive device mounted on the bottom of a Kia Sorento detonated around 7 a.m. as Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was leaving the courtyard of a residential building on Yasenevaya Street in south-east Moscow. Sarvarov was taken to hospital, the report said.
Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, died from his injuries, according to a statement from the Investigative Committee of Russia. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin was informed of the incident.
This attack has come when the Russian army is slowly advancing on the battlefield even after almost four years of war. Putin has signaled he has no interest in ending the war on any terms other than his own, insisting last week that Russia’s most radical demands form the basis of any peace talks.
The Investigative Committee, a major crime unit, said authorities were investigating the possibility that the attack that killed Sarvarov was linked to Ukrainian security services.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the country’s military intelligence (HUR) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The attack is the latest in a series of assassinations of military figures and prominent war supporters following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. It is the third time in the past year that senior Russian officials linked to the invasion have been killed in bomb attacks in Moscow.
In April, Major General Yaroslav Moskalyk, deputy head of the Main Operational Directorate of Russia’s General Staff, was also assassinated under similar circumstances as Sarvarov.
In December last year, the head of Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological defense forces, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, died in an explosion caused by a bomb planted on a scooter. A Ukrainian official said last year that the country’s security services were responsible for Kirillov’s murder.
Other high-profile cases include the car bomb murder of publicist Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent war ideologue, in August 2022. In April 2023, pro-war blogger Vladlen Tatarsky died in a Saint Petersburg cafe explosion. In both cases, Russian officials accused Ukraine of involvement, while Kiev denied any role.
In July 2023, Black Sea submarine commander Stanislav Razitsky was shot dead while on a run in Krasnodar.
Additional reporting by Fabrice Deprez
