Sarvarova, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Federation, was killed in an explosion in Moscow. What is known

On Monday, December 22, an explosion in the south of Moscow killed the head of the Operational Training Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov. The explosive device was attached to the bottom of his car. The investigation suggests that the Ukrainian special services were involved in the incident. Read more about the incident in the Izvestia article.

The murder of a soldier in the south of Moscow — what happened

On the morning of December 22, a car exploded in the courtyard of an apartment building in the Zyablikovo district in southern Moscow. Emergency services promptly arrived at the scene. It was reported that one person was injured as a result of the emergency. According to the Telegram channel 112, the man was trapped in the car. Rescuers managed to get the victim out of the vehicle, but he died in hospital from his injuries.

As the official representative of the Investigative Committee of Russia Svetlana Petrenko later reported, the explosion killed the head of the operational training Department of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov. The explosive device was installed under the bottom of his car.

A criminal case was opened into the incident on the grounds of crimes provided for in paragraph "e" of Part 2 of Article 105 of the Criminal Code, Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code ("Murder committed in a generally dangerous manner; illegal trafficking in explosives"). One of the versions of the Lieutenant General's murder is connected with the activities of the Ukrainian special services.

Murder of Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov — eyewitness testimony

An eyewitness to the incident told Izvestia that the explosion was very loud and could be heard by the entire area. According to the woman, her sister lives near the scene of the incident, so she immediately went to her.

"[A friend] called and said, 'What's wrong?' I say, "I'm going to go find out what happened." And there's a car explosion here," the source said.

The press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation also published footage from the explosion site. They show that Sarvarov's car was severely damaged, both from the outside and from the inside. The wreckage of the vehicle is scattered on the ground by the blast wave.

What is known about the deceased Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov

Fanil Sarvarov was born in 1969 in the city of Gremyachinsk, Perm region. In 1990, he graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School, and in 2008 from the Military Academy of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.

From 1992 to 2003, Sarvarov participated in military operations in North Ossetia and Chechnya, and from 2015 to 2016, he led the operations of Russian troops in the Syrian Arab Republic. Since 2016, he has served as Head of the Operational Training Department of the Russian Armed Forces, and in 2018 he was promoted to Major General.

Among his awards are the Order of Courage, the Suvorov Medal, the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I and II degrees, and the Order of Military Merit. In 2016, Sarvarov was awarded the title of "Honored Military Specialist of the Russian Federation."