A Kia Sorento exploded in Moscow’s Orekhovo-Borisovo district, killing Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces.
The 56-year-old major general died in the hospital from his injuries, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation said.
The Telegram channel “112” reported that the blast occurred when Sarvarov pressed the brake.
He suffered severe blast trauma, multiple shrapnel wounds to his lower limbs and fractures.
The improvised explosive device that caused the blast was estimated at the equivalent of about 300 grams of TNT.
Residents two blocks away reported hearing the explosion. According to the news outlet Agentstvo. Novosti, the car detonated about 150 meters from a building where several GRU employees live.
Moscow’s Main Investigative Directorate has opened a criminal case under Article 105, Part 2, Paragraph “e,” and Article 222.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (murder committed in a publicly dangerous way; illegal trafficking of explosives).
Details of Fanil Sarvarov’s biography were reported by the Russian outlet Agentstvo. According to the outlet, the late chief of the operational training directorate of the Russian Armed Forces held one of the highest ranks among Russian servicemembers killed in assassination attempts since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Fanil Sarvarov was born on March 11, 1969, in Perm region and was 56 at the time of his death. He graduated from the Kazan Higher Tank Command School.
Sarvarov served as chief of the operational training directorate at Russia’s Ministry of Defense.
From 1992 to 2003, Sarvarov took part in the Ossetian–Ingush conflict and the First and Second Chechen wars, and in 2015–2016 he fought in Syria.
Since 2016, he led the Ministry of Defense’s operational training directorate, which plans and organizes exercises for Russian troops and the day-to-day activities of military command bodies and Defense Ministry officials—work that also related to Russia’s war against Ukraine.
In 2018, Sarvarov attended a Kremlin event for officers appointed to top command posts. President Vladimir Putin took part in the reception and at that time conferred on Sarvarov the rank of major general.
Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed that Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed on the morning of December 22 in Moscow’s Orekhovo-Borisovo district. According to Russian investigators, unknown assailants planted an explosive device under his car. Media reported that the detonation of about 300 grams of TNT equivalent occurred when he pressed the brake pedal. Sarvarov suffered severe blast injuries, multiple shrapnel wounds to his lower limbs, fractures and died in the hospital.
Investigators are considering, among other possibilities, the involvement of Ukrainian special services. There were no official comments from Ukraine at the time of publication.
On April 25 in Balashikha, outside Moscow, Russian Maj. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik—who was involved in planning operations for the Russian Armed Forces at the strategic level - was killed in a car explosion.
On December 17, 2024, Russia’s Investigative Committee confirmed the death of Gen. Igor Kirillov from an explosive device hidden in an electric scooter. He led Russia’s Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Troops.
