A Russian general has been killed after an explosive device detonated underneath his car in Moscow Monday morning, with Ukraine suspected of being behind the attack.
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was named as the high-ranking officer killed in the explosion. He oversees combat training for Russia’s war in Ukraine.
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The highly decorated Sarvarov is the third Russian general to be killed in such an attack since December last year.
Russian Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said that a criminal case has been opened, investigating a “murder committed in a socially dangerous manner” and the “illegal trafficking of explosives”, according to Russian state media TASS.
Petrenko added that investigators are pursuing a number of possibilities regarding the explosion, including Ukrainian involvement. “One of them is that the crime was organized by the Ukrainian security agencies,” Petrenko said.
The explosion occurred at around 7 a.m. local time (11 p.m. ET Sunday) according to first responders who spoke to Russian media at the scene. The incident took place on Yasenevaya Street, southern Moscow, as General Sarvarov entered his car, close to an apartment block. TIME has reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense for comment.
Images from the scene of the explosion show a severely damaged white car, with its doors blown open and most of the damage appearing at the front of the vehicle, as investigators inspected the scene.
What appears to be blood could also be seen on the driver’s seat. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Vladimir Putin was informed immediately of Sarvarov’s death.
Monday’s attack on Sarvarov, 56, follows similar recent deadly attacks. Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head in the general staff of the Russian army, was also killed by an explosive device placed in his car last April, just outside of Moscow.
In December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed outside his apartment in the Russian capital by a bomb hidden in a scooter.
Kirillov, who was killed alongside his assistant, saw a criminal investigation opened against him the day prior to his death by Ukraine’s security service, SBU, which accused him of using banned chemical weapons during Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The SBU claimed responsibility for Kirillov’s death, but is yet to comment on Monday’s incident.
Kirillov was also under sanctions from Canada and the United Kingdom, accused of involvement in deploying the use of chemical weapons on the battlefield in Ukraine.
Sarvarov was a highly decorated general, having received the Order of Courage, the Suvorov Medal, and the Order ‘For Merit to the Fatherland’, according to Russian state media. The 56-year-old was also head of Russian operations in Syria in 2015 and 2016.
The explosion in Moscow comes days after the European Union approved a 90 billion euro loan package for Ukraine to be paid across 2026 and 2027. While the deal does not include frozen Russian assets currently held by the EU, President of the European Council Ursula von der Leyen confirmed that Ukraine would not need to begin paying back the loan until it had received Russian reparations.
“Until then, the [Russian] assets will remain immobilised. And the Union reserves its right to make use of the cash balances to finance the loan. This is the solution we found together,” said von der Leyen on December 19.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the loan agreement an “important victory” following its confirmation.
“It is a signal to the Russians that there is no point for them to continue the war because we have financial support, and therefore, we will not collapse on the front line,” said Zelensky on X.
On Monday, Zelensky also confirmed that Ukraine was working with Europe to implement an additional round of sanctions, after a 19th set of such measures was introduced by the E.U in November, alongside a U.S. package targeting Russia’s top oil firms.
Talks have also taken place over the weekend between U.S. and Ukrainian officials, as well as separate negotiations between the U.S. and Russia, both in Miami, Florida.
Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff met with Russian representative Kirill Dmitriev, calling talks over the weekend “productive and constructive,” in a post on X Sunday.
“Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine. Russia highly values the efforts and support of the United States to resolve the Ukrainian conflict and re-establish global security,” said Witkoff, who was also joined by President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner.
Dmitriev gave a brief remark on the talks. “Thank you, Miami. Next time: Moscow,” the CEO of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund posted on X.
In separate meetings with Witkoff, Ukrainian representative and former Defence Minister Rustem Umerov said that the talks ended with both sides discussing “positions on a multilateral framework agreement on security guarantees” as well as “positions on a bilateral agreement on security guarantees from the U.S.,” in a post on Telegram.
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