Assassination of a Senior Military Officer in Moscow

A series of assassinations of senior military officers in Moscow has highlighted the weaknesses of Russia’s security services. Vladimir Putin last year described the killing of the head of the Russian army’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces as a “big mistake” by the country’s security services.

News ID: 87078

Date: 23 December 2025 - 08:50

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Major General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff's army operational training directorate, died from severe injuries sustained in a car bomb explosion. “Investigators are pursuing various leads into the murder. One possibility is that Ukrainian intelligence services organized the crime,” said a spokesman for the Investigative Committee, which is leading the investigation.

Telegram channels close to Russian security services reported that Sarvarov’s car exploded at around 7 a.m. on Monday on Yasenevo Street in Moscow after driving a few meters.

Major General Sarvarov was responsible for training and overseeing the readiness of the Russian armed forces. He had extensive experience in the Russian military’s wars since the collapse of the Soviet Union. He participated in both Chechen wars and later played a key role in Russia’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war in 2015-16.

Some Russian officials have called for harsh revenge. “We must identify and destroy the entire network that carried out this operation. I don’t think they should be imprisoned. They should be treated like terrorists and destroyed in the middle of the battlefield,” said Andrey Kolesnik, a member of the Russian Duma’s defense committee.

Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Ukraine’s intelligence service has targeted dozens of Russian military officers and executives since the start of the war on charges of involvement in war crimes. There is no information about the secret Ukrainian cells that are said to be responsible for assassinations and attacks on military infrastructure inside Russia.

Last month, Kyiv claimed responsibility for the assassination of Major General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces. He was killed along with his aide, Ilya Polikarpov, by a bomb planted on an electric scooter outside his residence.

Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has previously vowed to carry out more strikes against senior Russian military commanders, saying: “They must know that if they do not stop the war, they will be punished anyway.”

The series of assassinations of senior military commanders in Moscow has highlighted the weaknesses of Russia’s security services. Vladimir Putin last year described Kirillov’s killing as a “big mistake” by Russian security services and said they must learn from the incident and become more efficient.

Keith Kellogg, Donald Trump’s special envoy for Ukraine and Russia, criticized Ukraine’s assassination of Russian generals last year, saying such actions could violate the laws of war.

It is not yet clear how Sarvarov’s high-profile assassination will affect ceasefire talks that Ukrainian and U.S. officials are holding in Florida to end the nearly year-long war with Russia. Russia is also holding separate talks with the U.S. in Florida that are set to continue on Monday.