Russian general killed in car bombing in Moscow; investigators point to possible Ukrainian link

A senior Russian military officer was killed on Monday after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in Moscow, with investigators saying Ukrainian intelligence could be behind the attack.

Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, died from his injuries, Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, said.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of enquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” Petrenko said in a statement.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed about Sarvarov’s killing.

The Russian Defence Ministry said Sarvarov had previously fought in Chechnya and had taken part in Russia’s military campaign in Syria.

The incident marks the third killing of a senior Russian military officer in about a year involving explosive devices. On 17 December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb concealed on an electric scooter outside his apartment building in Moscow.

His assistant was also killed in the blast. Ukraine’s security service later claimed responsibility for that attack.

An Uzbek national was subsequently arrested and charged by Russian authorities with carrying out Kirillov’s killing on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence. Following the incident, President Putin described the attack as a “major blunder” by Russia’s security agencies and called for improvements in their effectiveness.

In April this year, another senior officer, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff, was killed when an explosive device detonated in his car near his apartment building outside Moscow. A suspect was arrested shortly after the incident.

Russian authorities have repeatedly accused Ukraine of being behind bombings and other attacks inside Russia since the start of the conflict. Ukraine has not commented on Monday’s killing.