A senior Russian military commander was killed by a car bomb in southern Moscow on Monday morning, in an attack that took place just hours after separate Russian and Ukrainian delegations held talks in the United States on proposals to end the war in Ukraine.
The blast killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, the head of the Russian General Staff’s training department. Investigators said the explosive device had been planted beneath his parked vehicle in a residential neighbourhood. Kyiv has not commented on the incident, while Russian authorities said they were examining possible links to Ukrainian special services.
The killing follows a series of high-profile attacks targeting Russian generals and pro-war figures since the start of the conflict, many of which Moscow has blamed on Ukraine. At the scene, AFP reporters saw the wreckage of a white Kia SUV, its doors torn off and frame blackened by the explosion. Security forces sealed off the area as forensic teams combed through debris, with residents reporting a loud blast that rattled nearby windows.
Local residents expressed shock at the attack. One woman said the explosion shattered the sense of safety in the neighbourhood, while another resident described it as a grim consequence of the ongoing war spilling into daily life.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it was pursuing multiple lines of inquiry into what it described as a murder, including the possible involvement of Ukrainian intelligence services. Sarvarov’s military career included service in the North Caucasus during the Chechen conflicts of the 1990s and command roles in Syria during Russia’s intervention there in 2015 and 2016.
The Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the killing. The attack coincided with intensified diplomatic efforts in Miami, where the United States has been hosting talks aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old war. Ukrainian negotiator Rustem Umerov and US envoy Steve Witkoff described recent discussions as making progress, while Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev also met with the US team, which included Jared Kushner.
The talks revolve around a draft plan initially proposed by US President Donald Trump, which has drawn criticism in Kyiv and European capitals for aligning closely with Moscow’s demands. Ukraine and its allies have since sought revisions, saying Kyiv is being pressured to accept sweeping territorial concessions, including relinquishing the eastern Donbas region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has voiced doubts about Russia’s commitment to ending the war, which has killed tens of thousands and devastated large parts of eastern and southern Ukraine. On Monday, the Kremlin also rejected claims that Moscow aims to reconstitute the Soviet Union or seize territory beyond Ukraine, after reports citing US intelligence assessments suggested broader ambitions.
Since Russian forces entered Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has accused Kyiv of orchestrating multiple attacks against military officials and pro-Kremlin figures. Among them was the killing of General Yaroslav Moskalik in a car blast near Moscow earlier this year, and the death of Igor Kirillov, head of Russia’s radiological, chemical and biological defence forces, who was killed by an explosive device in Moscow in December 2024. Other victims have included military blogger Maxim Fomin in 2023 and Daria Dugina, the daughter of nationalist ideologue Alexander Dugin, who died in a car bombing in 2022.
