Moscow — A Russian common was killed Monday morning when an explosive gadget detonated beneath his automobile in Moscow, and investigators mentioned Ukraine could possibly be behind the assault, the third such killing of a senior army officer in a 12 months.
Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Coaching Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ Normal Employees, died from his accidents, mentioned Svetlana Petrenko, the spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, the nation’s high legal investigation company.
“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of enquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” Petrenko mentioned.
There was no fast remark from Kyiv.
An investigator works on the automobile blast website in southern Moscow on Dec. 22,2025 the place, authorities mentioned, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the coaching division throughout the Normal Employees, was killed when an explosive gadget positioned underneath his automobile went off.
Alexander NEMENOV / AFP through Getty Photographs
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov mentioned that President Vladimir Putin had been instantly knowledgeable about Sarvarov’s killing.
The Protection Ministry mentioned Sarvarov had beforehand fought in Chechnya and brought half in Moscow’s army marketing campaign in Syria.
Simply over a 12 months in the past, on Dec. 17, 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the army’s nuclear, organic and chemical safety forces, was killed by a bomb hidden on an electrical scooter exterior his condominium constructing. Kirillov’s assistant additionally died. Ukraine’s safety service claimed accountability for the assault.
An Uzbek man was shortly arrested and charged with killing Kirillov on behalf of the Ukrainian safety service.
Russian President Vladimir Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a “major blunder” by Russia’s safety companies, noting they need to study from it and enhance their effectivity.
However in April. one other senior Russian army officer, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the principle operational division within the Normal Employees, was killed by an explosive gadget positioned in his automobile parked close to to his condominium constructing simply exterior Moscow. A suspected perpetrator was shortly arrested.
Moscow additionally has blamed Ukraine fo r a number of bombings and different assaults in Russia.
Go deeper with The Free Press