A senior Russian military officer has been killed after a bomb planted in his vehicle detonated in Moscow, authorities have confirmed.
The Russian Investigative Committee said Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of operational training at the General Staff, died when an explosive device detonated beneath his car on Monday morning in the southern part of the capital. Several nearby vehicles were damaged in the blast, and Sarvarov’s driver was seriously injured, according to local media reports.
Investigators said the device had been deliberately placed under the vehicle, indicating a targeted assassination. Russian officials confirmed that one line of inquiry is the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services, noting previous cases in which explosive devices were used in attacks on Russian officials.
The killing follows a similar incident last December, when Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, commander of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Forces, was killed alongside an aide by a bomb concealed in an electric scooter. That attack was also blamed by investigators on Ukrainian operatives.
Sarvarov was a career military officer with combat experience dating back to counterterrorism operations in southern Russia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Appointed to his senior training role in 2016, he was responsible for preparing high-ranking officers for staff exercises and strategic operations, and had previously been involved in Russia’s military deployment in Syria.
