Three individuals, including two police officers, lost their lives in an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday, Russian investigators confirmed. This tragic incident occurred just days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking military official in the same vicinity.
According to spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko from the Investigative Committee, the two traffic police officers were responding to a “suspicious individual” when an explosive device detonated. The officers, along with a nearby civilian, succumbed to their injuries as forensic teams began their investigation at the scene.
The explosion took place in southern Moscow, near where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed by a car bomb on Monday, March 4, 2024. Sarvarov’s death occurred when an explosive device was detonated under his vehicle. Authorities have suggested that the Ukrainian security service may be linked to this attack, marking it as the third assassination of a senior Russian military officer within a little over a year.
In a previous incident on December 17, 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who led the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb concealed on an electric scooter outside his apartment. His assistant also perished in that attack, which was later claimed by Ukraine’s security service. An Uzbek national was arrested and charged with aiding in Kirillov’s assassination.
The string of targeted killings continued in April, when Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device planted in his car parked near his residence. In that case, a suspect was quickly apprehended.
Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine nearly four years ago, Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of orchestrating several assassinations of military officers and public figures within Russia. Ukraine has openly claimed responsibility for some of these attacks.
As investigations into these incidents unfold, the implications for security and military strategy in Russia remain significant. The recent wave of violence raises questions about the safety of high-ranking officials and the potential for further retaliatory actions in the ongoing conflict between the two nations.
