Moscow Car Bomb Marks Latest Assassination Of High-Ranking Military Officer During Ukraine War

A senior Russian general has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, the latest in a series of attacks on military officials and pro-war figures since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine almost four years ago.

Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement on the morning of December 22 that an explosive device placed under a car detonated on a street in the outskirts of the Russian capital.

Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff's army operational training directorate, died as a result of injuries suffered in the blast, the statement added.

Ukrainian military intelligence, which has claimed responsibility for a number of similar attacks that have killed high-profile figures on Russian soil, did not immediately respond to questions from RFE/RL about the incident.

The Russian-language Telegram channel Baza reported that the car transporting Savarov traveled a short distance before the explosion.

A video from the scene posted by the Investigative Committee shows a heavily damaged white car, surrounded by other vehicles in a parking lot.

The committee said that one of the potential scenarios under consideration is that Ukrainian special services planted the bomb.

The 56-year-old Sarvarov fought against insurgents in Chechnya and in Russian military operations in Syria in 2015-16.

He was raised to the rank of lieutenant general by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024.

According to the investigative group Proyekt (The Project), Sarvarov also participated in the war against Ukraine.

Sarvarov's death marks yet another assassination of a high-ranking Russian military officer in the recent months.

In April, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was killed when a car exploded on a street in a Moscow suburb as he walked nearby.

Russian prosecutors have charged a man in connection with the blast that killed Moskalik, alleging he had been paid by Ukrainian intelligence services.

SEE ALSO:
Russia Charges Man With Car Bombing That Killed Top General

In December 2024, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov died when a bomb planted in an electric scooter on a sidewalk detonated as he exited his Moscow apartment building.

Kirillov headed Russia's military unit that oversaw defenses against nuclear, chemical, and biological attacks.

Russian officials also alleged Ukraine was behind that bombing.