Russian Lieutenant General Killed in Car Bomb Blast in Moscow

MOSCOW, Dec 22: A Russian lieutenant general was killed on Monday after a car bomb exploded in Moscow, Russia’s Investigative Committee said, raising fresh concerns over targeted attacks on senior military officials.

Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, succumbed to his injuries following the blast, Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said.

She said investigators are examining multiple angles behind the killing, including the possibility that the attack was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence agencies. “One of the versions being considered is that the explosive device was planted by Ukrainian special services,” Petrenko said.

Since Russia launched its military operation in Ukraine in February 2022, Kyiv has been accused of carrying out several attacks targeting Russian military officers and pro-Kremlin figures in Russia and in Russian-controlled Ukrainian territories.

In April this year, General Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy chief of the General Staff, was killed in a car blast near Moscow.

Earlier, in December 2024, Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defence forces, was killed when a booby-trapped electric scooter exploded in Moscow, an attack later claimed by Ukraine’s SBU security service.

In another high-profile incident, Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin was killed in April 2023 when a statuette exploded inside a café in Saint Petersburg.

In August 2022, a car bomb attack killed Daria Dugina, the daughter of ultranationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin. (Agencies)