Investigators are examining the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services in an attack which cost the life of a member of the Russian general staff. A Russian General Staff officer died this Monday (12/22) in a car explosion in the south of Moscow, the Russian Investigative Committee reported.
The commission confirmed the opening of an investigation into the “assassination” of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, head of the operational training department of the General Staff, adding that an explosive device placed under a vehicle had exploded on a Moscow street and that Sarvarov “did not survive the injuries” suffered during the explosion.
Investigators are examining several possible motives for the killing, including the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services, according to commission spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko.
Attacks on Russian leaders
Since the start of the large-scale Russian offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, kyiv has been repeatedly accused of carrying out targeted attacks against figures and military leaders in Russia and areas of Ukraine occupied by Moscow.
In April, another high-ranking Russian military officer, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the General Staff’s main operational department, was killed by an explosive device planted in his car, parked near his apartment building on the outskirts of Moscow. A suspect was quickly arrested.
Last February, pro-Russian paramilitary leader Armen Sargsyan was killed in an explosion in a luxury building in Moscow.
In December 2024, Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defense forces, was killed in the explosion of an electric scooter loaded with explosives in the Russian capital.
Russian President Vladimir Putin called Kirillov’s murder a “serious mistake” by Russian security agencies, stressing that they should learn from it and improve their efficiency.
The murder was claimed by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU). An Uzbek man was quickly arrested and charged with Kirillov’s murder at the request of the SBU.
In April 2023, Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin was killed when a figurine exploded in a St. Petersburg cafe. In August 2022, a car bomb killed Daria Dugina, daughter of ultranationalist ideologue Alexandre Dugin.
md/cn (AFP, DPA, AP)
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