The aftermath of the explosion in Moscow on 22 December 2025. Photo: social media
A high-ranking member of Russia’s armed forces was killed in a car bomb in Moscow on Monday morning, the Investigative Committee has reported.
The blast took place early on Monday morning in a residential parking area, according to Telegram channel Baza, which is known for its close ties to Russia’s security services. A Kia Sorento exploded at about 7am local time after the driver had got into the vehicle and driven a few metres, Baza wrote.
Investigators later identified the victim as Lieutenant-General Fanil Sarvarov, Head of the Operational Training Department of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
The Investigative Committee said a criminal case had been opened on charges of murder and illegal handling of explosives, adding that the explosion may have been caused by an improvised explosive device fixed to the bottom of the car.
Law enforcement is looking into whether the attack could be linked to the Ukrainian secret services, investigators said.
According to independent investigative outlet Proekt, Sarvarov had taken part in several military conflicts, including the Ossetian-Ingush conflict, inter-ethnic strife that erupted in southern Russia in 1992, the war in Chechnya, Russia’s military campaign in Syria and the war in Ukraine.
Moscow has seen a number of similar car bomb attacks targeting senior military figures since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
In April, Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff, was killed alongside his driver when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath his car. The suspect who later confessed to the crime said he had acted on orders from the Ukrainian secret services.
In December 2024, Russian police detained an Uzbek citizen suspected of planting a bomb that killed Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov and his assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, outside Kirillov’s apartment block in Moscow.
