A senior Russian military official has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, marking the latest in a series of high-profile attacks targeting figures linked to Russia’s armed forces since the start of the war in Ukraine. Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, died on Monday after an explosive device planted beneath a vehicle detonated in a residential area in the south of the capital.
According to investigators, the blast occurred in a car park near an apartment complex. Sarvarov was seriously injured and later died in the hospital. Images released from the scene showed a heavily damaged white Kia Sorento with its doors blown out, while investigators cordoned off the area and examined debris from the explosion.
👀A Russian general was killed in a car bomb in southeastern Moscow this morning, per Investigative Committee: Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, who heads the operational training directorate for the General Staff, died in the blast. https://t.co/qhc21OcGFU pic.twitter.com/masAVPmSpz
— Mike Eckel (@Mike_Eckel) December 22, 2025
Sarvarov served as the head of the armed forces operational training department, a senior role within the Russian military structure. Russian media reported that his career spanned several decades, including participation in combat operations during the Ossetian-Ingush conflict and the Chechen wars in the 1990s and early 2000s, as well as leading operations in Syria between 2015 and 2016.
You May Like To Read: Field Marshal Asim Munir Honored with Saudi Arabia’s Highest National Medal
The Investigative Committee said it had opened a criminal case into murder and the illegal trafficking of explosives. One line of inquiry being explored is the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services, although no evidence has been publicly presented. Ukraine has not commented on the allegation and, as a matter of policy, does not officially acknowledge responsibility for targeted attacks inside Russia.
Russian authorities say a senior general dies in a Moscow car bombing as investigators explore possible Ukrainian involvement. https://t.co/1UfRUTgnjh
— ARISE NEWS (@ARISEtv) December 22, 2025
The killing is the third such attack on a Russian military official in Moscow over the past year. Previous incidents include the deaths of Generals Yaroslav Moskalik and Igor Kirillov, as well as the 2022 car bombing that killed Darya Dugina, the daughter of a prominent nationalist figure. Together, these incidents highlight growing security concerns in the Russian capital amid the ongoing conflict.
Check out our latest video:
