A Russian general has been killed after an explosive device detonated beneath his car in what Moscow described as a likely assassination carried out by Ukrainian intelligence services.
Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the operational training directorate of the Russian armed forces’ general staff, died of his injuries, a spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee said in a statement.
“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” the spokesperson said.
Russian Telegram channels with links to the security services reported that Sarvarov’s car exploded while driving along Yaseneva Street in Moscow at about 7am on Monday, killing the driver inside. According to reports, the vehicle had travelled several metres before the blast went off.
Sarvarov, who oversees combat training and readiness for Russia’s armed forces in the war in Ukraine, has extensive experience in the Kremlin’s post-Soviet wars. He took part in both Chechen wars and later played a role in organising Russia’s 2015–16 military intervention in Syria.
Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, described Sarvarov’s death as a “terrible murder”. Other officials and prominent pro-war voices have called for swift retribution for the attack – the third bombing in Moscow in the past year to claim the life of a senior Russian officer linked to the invasion.
“We need to identify and eliminate the entire chain of those who carried out the operation. I don’t think they should be taken prisoner at all – they should simply be destroyed on the spot, as is done with terrorists,” Andrey Kolesnik, a member of the Duma’s defence committee, was quoted as saying by the news site Lenta.ru.
Starshe Eddy, a popular pro-war blogger, called for Moscow to assassinate Ukrainian officials inside the country.
“Only the destruction of targets on the enemy’s territory can first disrupt the wave of terrorism and then significantly reduce it, giving our security services breathing space and making their work easier. These targets, of course, include the enemy’s military and political figures,” he wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies have targeted dozens of Russian military officers and Russian-installed officials since the start of the war, accusing them of involvement in war crimes. Little is known about the clandestine Ukrainian resistance cells believed to be behind assassinations and attacks on military infrastructure inside Russia and in Russian-controlled territories.
Last December, Kyiv claimed responsibility for the assassination of Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, the head of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, who was killed by a bomb concealed in an electric scooter outside his apartment building, a day after Ukraine levelled criminal charges against him. His assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed in the attack.
Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appeared in September to signal that further attacks on senior Russian military figures could follow, warning that they “have to know where their bomb shelters are”, and adding: “If they do not stop the war, they will need it in any case.”
Ukraine’s continued targeting of senior Russian military figures has underscored failures within Russia’s security services. Vladimir Putin last year described the killing of Kirillov as a “major blunder” by the country’s security agencies, saying they should learn from it and improve their effectiveness.
It is unclear whether the high-profile killing of Sarvarov will have any impact on the peace talks, as Ukrainian and US officials are holding discussions in Florida aimed at ending the nearly four-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Russia is holding separate talks with the US in Florida, which are expected to continue on Monday.
Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s appointed special representative for Ukraine and Russia, criticised Ukraine’s killing of Russian generals last year, saying such actions could violate the rules of warfare.
