A Russian general has been killed by a car bomb – the third such killing of a senior military officer in a year.
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, died after the blast in southern Moscow.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for Russia’s investigative committee, suggested Ukraine may be behind the killing.
“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” she said.
Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for several assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of them, but has not yet commented on the latest death.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said President Vladimir Putin had been immediately informed about the killing of Sarvarov, who fought in Chechnya and had taken part in Moscow’s military campaign in Syria.
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Previous assassinations have included Lt Gen Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, who was killed just over a year ago.
Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the attack after he and his assistant were killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment.
An Uzbek man was quickly arrested and charged with killing Kirillov on behalf of the Ukrainian security service.
Putin described Kirillov’s killing as a “major blunder” by Russia’s security agencies, noting they should learn from it and improve their efficiency.
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Ukraine, which is outnumbered by Russia’s larger, better equipped military, has frequently tried to change the course of the conflict by attacking in unexpected ways.
Russia says it has no intention of attacking Europe
Meanwhile, Moscow has claimed it is ready to confirm in a legal agreement that it has no intention of attacking either the European Union or the US-led NATO military alliance.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said: “In responding to the adventurous and provocative steps taken by NATO countries, we have, on the one hand, demonstrated considerable restraint, while, on the other, we have consistently sent important warning signals to our opponents about the strategic risks they pose, coupled with our unwavering commitment to firmly defending our national security interests.”
He added that significant risks of a clash between Russia and NATO remained due to Europe’s hostile actions.
“Frankly, this doesn’t breed optimism as it clearly shows that even amid a more balanced Russia policy pursued by Washington, risks of a confrontation between Russia and NATO remain significant due to inadequate and hostile actions by European countries,” he said.
However, Rybakov claimed Moscow had no plans to attack Western countries and was “even ready to legally enshrine this with regard to a potential solution to the current crisis based on the principle of equal and indivisible security”.
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Western officials have repeatedly accused Russia of staging a campaign away from the battlefield, accusing it of orchestrating dozens of incidents of disruption and sabotage across Europe as part of an effort to sap support for Ukraine. Moscow has denied the claims.
