A senior Russian general was killed in Moscow on Monday when a bomb planted under his car exploded, investigators said.
The attack comes almost exactly a year after another top Russian general was killed by an explosive device in Moscow in an attack claimed by Ukraine’s domestic security agency, the SBU.
Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who headed the Russian army’s Directorate for Operational Training, died as a result of his injuries, the Investigative Committee said in a statement.
Images shared by the investigators showed a white car in a Moscow parking lot that had sustained heavy damage, with large sections of the vehicle’s external body missing, the driver’s seat stained in blood, and debris strewn on the surrounding ground. Photographs captured by the Associated Press showed heavily armed law enforcement working at the scene behind police tape.
The Investigative Committee said Sarvarov had taken part in the war in Ukraine, without offering further details. According to the government-owned Tass news agency, Sarvarov’s military career included stints in Syria in 2015-2016 and fighting insurgents in Chechnya in the 1990s. The agency reported that the 56-year-old was promoted to his most recent role in 2016.
On Monday, prosecutors opened a criminal investigation and said they were examining the scene for forensic evidence.
“The investigation is considering various versions of the murder. One of them involves the possible organization of the crime by Ukrainian special services,” said Svetlana Petrenko, spokeswoman for the Investigative Committee.
A spokesperson for the SBU wasn’t immediately available for comment Monday morning. Ukraine’s military intelligence agency, the GUR, did not respond to a request for comment.
Sarvarov’s death comes a year after a similar explosion in the Russian capital targeted Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, a high-ranking military official who was killed when an explosive device attached to a scooter detonated as he exited a residential building. The SBU was responsible for the attack, according to an agency official who spoke at the time on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter.
David Stern and Anastacia Galouchka contributed to this report.
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