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Russian general dies in explosion near Moscow apartment
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, was killed Monday when a bomb detonated beneath his vehicle in a southern Moscow parking lot, Russia's Investigative Committee reported.
Attack details
The blast occurred shortly before noon in a residential car park adjacent to an apartment block. Photographs from the scene show a white sedan with its doors torn off and nearby vehicles damaged.
Sarvarov, who headed the armed forces' operational training department, was rushed to hospital but died of his injuries, the committee stated. Authorities have launched a murder investigation and are also probing the illegal trafficking of explosives.
Investigation focuses on Ukrainian link
One line of inquiry centers on possible involvement by Ukrainian intelligence services, the committee said. Kyiv has not responded to the allegation.
Sarvarov's military background
Russian media report that Sarvarov served in the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and both Chechen wars during the 1990s and early 2000s. He later commanded operations in Syria between 2015 and 2016.
Recent pattern of targeted attacks
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several high-ranking military officials have been killed in the capital.
In April, General Yaroslav Moskalik died in a car bombing. In December 2024, General Igor Kirillov was killed when a remote-controlled device hidden in a scooter exploded. A Ukrainian source later told the BBC that Kirillov's death was carried out by Ukraine's security service, although Kyiv has never officially acknowledged responsibility for such operations.
