Senior Russian military officer dies after car bomb blast in Moscow
Guwahati: A senior Russian military officer died after a powerful car bomb exploded in Moscow on Monday, authorities confirmed, marking the latest in a series of targeted attacks on defence officials in the capital.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said an improvised explosive device detonated beneath a vehicle, critically injuring Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, who later succumbed to his wounds in hospital. Sarvarov headed the armed forces’ operational training department.
Investigators have opened a criminal case on charges of murder and illegal trafficking of explosives. They said one line of inquiry examines possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services, though Kyiv has not issued any comment.
Forensic teams cordoned off the blast site, a parking area near a residential apartment complex in southern Moscow, and began collecting evidence. Images from the scene showed a white Kia Sorento heavily damaged by the explosion, with doors blown off and debris scattered among nearby vehicles.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin received immediate briefings on the incident, according to spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.
Russian media reports noted that Sarvarov had an extensive military career, including participation in the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, the Chechen wars of the 1990s and early 2000s, and command roles during Russia’s military operations in Syria between 2015 and 2016.
Sarvarov is the third senior military figure killed in bombing incidents in Moscow over the past year, underscoring heightened security concerns since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Previous attacks include the killing of nationalist commentator Darya Dugina in a car bombing in 2022, the death of General Yaroslav Moskalik in a similar attack in April last year, and the December 2024 killing of General Igor Kirillov, who died when an explosive device concealed in a scooter detonated remotely.
A Ukrainian source later told the BBC that Ukraine’s security service carried out the attack on Kirillov, though the claim never received official confirmation. Ukraine, as a matter of policy, does not publicly acknowledge responsibility for targeted assassinations.