Russian general killed by bomb under his car and Moscow says Ukraine could be behind it

Moscow — A Russian general was killed Monday morning when an explosive device detonated under his car in Moscow, and investigators said Ukraine may be behind the attack, the third such killing of a senior military officer in a year.

Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, died of his wounds, said Svetlana Petrenko, a spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigative agency.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of them is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” Petrenko said.

From Moscow sent troops to Ukraine almost four years agoRussian authorities have blamed Ukraine for several assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia. Ukraine claimed responsibility for some of them. He has not yet commented on Monday’s death.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed of Sarvarov’s assassination.

The Defense Ministry said Sarvarov previously fought in Chechnya and took part in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria.

A little over a year ago, on December 17, 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the military nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his building. Kirillov’s assistant also died. Ukrainian security services claimed responsibility for the attack.

An Uzbek man was quickly arrested and charged with Kirillov’s murder on behalf of Ukrainian security services.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Kirillov’s assassination a “major mistake” by Russia’s security agencies, stressing that they should learn from it and improve their effectiveness.

But in April. another senior officer of the Russian army, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car parked near his apartment building, just outside Moscow. The alleged perpetrator was quickly arrested.

Moscow has also blamed Ukraine for several bombings and other attacks in Russia.