A senior Russian military official has been killed in a car bomb attack in southern Moscow, Russian investigators confirmed on Monday, in what appears to be the latest high-profile assassination linked to the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s Army Operational Training Directorate, died after an explosive device detonated beneath his vehicle as he was leaving a parking area at approximately 06:55 a.m. Moscow time (0355 GMT), according to Russia’s State Investigative Committee.
The bomb exploded under a Kia Sorento driven by Sarvarov, causing fatal injuries. Investigators released video footage showing the wreckage of the vehicle, with one door blown off and blood visible on the driver’s seat.
Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said investigators were collecting forensic evidence, questioning witnesses, and reviewing nearby security camera footage.
“Several versions of the killing are being examined, including the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services in organising the crime,” Petrenko said. There was no immediate official comment from Ukraine.
The Ukrainian-linked website Myrotvorets, which maintains a database of individuals it labels as war criminals or traitors, updated its entry on Sarvarov, stating that the 56-year-old general had been “liquidated.”
Sarvarov’s killing comes amid a series of targeted assassinations of Russian military figures and prominent supporters of Moscow’s war effort during the nearly four-year conflict in Ukraine. Ukrainian military intelligence has previously claimed responsibility for a number of such attacks.
Past victims of car bombings in or near Moscow have included a senior General Staff officer, the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, and the daughter of a well-known Russian nationalist figure.
Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov as saying President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed of the attack.
No arrests have been announced, and investigations into the bombing are ongoing.
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