In brief
Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, head of the operational training department of Russia's armed forces, was killed in a car bombing in Moscow. Authorities are investigating the incident, with speculation about potential involvement from Ukrainian intelligence. This attack is part of a series of bombings that have targeted military officials in Russia since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict.
A Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, officials have confirmed.
Russia's Investigative Committee stated that Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died on Monday morning after an explosive device planted under a car detonated. At 56, Sarvarov served as the head of the armed forces' operational training department.
This incident marks the third military official to be killed in bomb attacks in the Russian capital over the past year.
Officials are currently investigating the possibility that Ukrainian intelligence services were involved in the bombing, although Ukraine has not commented on the situation.
Sarvarov succumbed to his injuries in a hospital after the car explosion, prompting an investigation into murder and illegal trafficking of explosives. Investigators have been dispatched to the scene, located in a car park near an apartment complex in southern Moscow.
Images from the site depict a severely damaged white Kia Sorento with blown-out doors, surrounded by other vehicles.
Previously, Sarvarov participated in combat operations during conflicts such as the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and the Chechen wars, and he also led operations in Syria between 2015 and 2016.
Vladimir Putin was notified of Sarvarov's death almost immediately, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, targeted attacks against military officials and prominent figures have escalated in the Russian capital.
Notable incidents include the car bombing death of Darya Dugina, daughter of a prominent nationalist figure, in 2022, and the killing of Gen Yaroslav Moskalik in a car bomb attack last April.
In December 2024, Gen Igor Kirillov died when a device hidden in a scooter detonated remotely. A source later claimed that Kirillov was killed by Ukraine's security service, although this has not been confirmed.
