Top Russian military officer killed in Moscow car bombing, Ukraine’s role suspected: Video
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff died from the injuries.
This photo provided by Investigative Committee of Moscow shows an investigator working at the scene where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed under his car in Moscow. (AP)
A Russian general was killed in a car bombing in Moscow on Monday, officials have said, which is the third such killing of a senior military officer in the country this year as officials reportedly pointed fingers at Ukraine for the killing.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff died from the injuries after the bomb went off in his car.
“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” Petrenko said, AP reported.
This image taken from video provided by Investigative Committee of Moscow shows the scene where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed under his car in Moscow. (Investigative Committee of Moscow via AP)
The Russian Investigative Committee said that one of the theories being investigated is about Ukraine’s intelligence services involvement. Kyiv has yet not made any comment in the killing of 56-year-old Lieutenant General Sarvarov who headed Russia’s armed forces operational training department.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, authorities in Moscow have accused Kyiv of carrying out multiple assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia. Ukraine has also claimed responsibility for some of those killings in the past.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that Russian President Vladimir Putin was immediately informed about Sarvarov’s killing. The Russian defence ministry said that Sarvarov had earlier fought in Chechnya and also took part in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria.
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Photos released by Russian state media showed a badly damaged vehicle in a parking lot in a neighbourhood in Moscow.
About one year ago, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, who was heading the Russian military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed when a bomb went off on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. Kirillov’s assistant was also killed in the blast.
Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik was also killed in a car bomb blast near Moscow in April. Moskalik was the deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff, CNN reported.
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This photo provided by Investigative Committee of Moscow shows an investigator working at the scene where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed under his car in Moscow. (AP) 
