General in charge of training Russian troops killed in car bomb blast in Moscow
A Russian general has been killed in a car bomb attack in Moscow.
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Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the Russian General Staff’s operational training directorate, was “murdered” in the explosion on Monday morning, the country’s investigative committee said.
Russian officials are investigating whether the bomb was planted by Ukrainian special forces.
Investigators are currently at the scene, in a car park near an apartment block in the south of Russia's capital.
Images from the area show a badly damaged white car with the doors blown out, surrounded by other vehicles in a parking lot.
An early report said the general suffered "multiple shrapnel injuries, closed fractures, leg injuries, and a fractured facial bone" in the 6:55am blast.
He later succumbed to his injuries.
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Lt Gen Sarvarov was believed to be on his way to work when the explosion occurred in the Yasenevo district in Moscow.
The general, 56, worked in the Russian ministry of defence and was in charge of training the Kremlin’s armed forces.
Kyiv has been targeting senior military figures - with both sides engaging in cross-border assassinations targeting generals and other senior political figures in a bid to hinder the other side’s war effort.
On Dec 17 last year, Lt Gen Igor Kirillov was killed by an explosive device hidden inside an e-scooter. He was in charge of Russia’s nuclear, chemical and biological weapons.
In the days leading up to his death, Mikhail Shatsky, an engineer involved in missile and drone production, was shot dead.
In April this year, car bombs killed two senior Russians linked to electronic warfare and operational planning, including Gen Yaroslav Moskalik, a key figure in Russia’s general staff.