Third attack in a year: car bomb kills a high-ranking Russian officer in Moscow

A car bomb killed a senior Russian military officer in Moscow. The victim was Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Russia. Sarvarov, 56, lost his life from his wounds. This is the third assassination of a senior military officer in a little over a year.

According to the Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskow, Vladimir Putin was immediately informed about the attack.

"According to an investigation, on the morning of December 22, an explosive device planted under a car was activated on Yasenevaya Street in Moscow. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the General Staff’s Operational Training Directorate, has died of injuries from the explosion," said the spokeswoman for the Russian Investigative Committee, Svetlana Petrenko.

The official added that there are currently several theories related to the origin of the attack. One of them is that the crime could have been orchestrated by "the Ukrainian security agencies.”

As for Sarvarov's extensive military career, he participated in operations during the invasion of Georgia, Chechnya, Syria and Ukraine. His services led him to be decorated with the Order of Courage, the Suvorov Medal and the Order of Merit to the Fatherland.

This death follows those of other military commanders: lieutenant general Igor Kirillov and lieutenant general Yaroslav Moskalik.

Kirillov, head of the army's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, died just over a year ago after the explosion of a bomb that was hidden in front of his building. As reported by The Associated Press, the Ukrainian security service claimed responsibility for the attack. Kirillov's assistant was also killed during the explosion.

The other case took place in April, when Moskalik, deputy chief of the main operational department of the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car.