Senior Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov killed in car bomb blast in southern Moscow

Senior Russian Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov killed in car bomb blast in southern Moscow; probe cites possible Ukrainian link (File image)

A senior Russian military officer was killed on Monday after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in southern Moscow, Russian investigators said, marking the latest in a series of high-profile attacks on military figures since the Ukraine war began.

Russia’s Investigative Committee identified the victim as Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate under the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff. Officials said a criminal investigation has been launched into what they described as a “murder”.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of enquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” said Svetlana Petrenko, official spokesperson for the Investigative Committee.

According to preliminary findings, the blast was caused by an improvised explosive device planted under the vehicle, which detonated shortly after it began moving in Moscow’s Yasenevo district. Sarvarov died at the scene.

Russian authorities said they are examining multiple possible motives, including a potential link to Ukrainian special services, though no group has claimed responsibility so far.

The killing comes amid heightened tensions and intensified fighting between Russia and Ukraine, even as diplomatic efforts involving the United States continue. Kremlin officials have said talks aimed at ending the conflict are progressing “constructively,” while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has said negotiations are moving “quickly.”

The attack also fits a broader pattern of targeted killings linked to the conflict. Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several Russian military officials and pro-Kremlin figures have been assassinated in similar incidents.

In April this year, General Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy chief of the General Staff, was killed in a car bomb attack near Moscow. In December 2024, Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defence forces, died after a booby-trapped electric scooter exploded in the capital, an attack later claimed by Ukraine’s SBU security service.

Earlier incidents include the April 2023 killing of military blogger Maxim Fomin in a café bombing in Saint Petersburg, and the August 2022 car bomb attack that killed Daria Dugina, daughter of ultranationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin.

Investigations into Sarvarov’s killing are ongoing as Russian authorities assess security vulnerabilities amid the continuing war.

(With agency inputs)