Several blasts were reported at the site where a car belonging to Russian Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was previously blown up in a parking lot. Residents of Moscow’s Orekhovo-Borisovo district said they heard at least two loud “pops” on Yeletskaya Street, according to Russian media. Here’s what is known so far.
Two traffic police officers were killed and two others were wounded. Later, Russian media said a third body had been found and was initially believed to be a passerby. It is now reported to have been the bomber, who detonated an improvised explosive device near police.
“Around 1:30 a.m., two traffic police officers noticed a suspicious man near a service vehicle. The officers approached to check — at that moment an explosive device detonated. Both officers and the attacker were killed at the scene,” the statement said.
Earlier, Russian media reported that an unknown individual threw a package into a police car, which later detonated. A gray car was said to have been circling the area, and when it drew the attention of a patrol, an explosive charge was thrown at them.
According to the Telegram channel Baza, two police officers were killed and two more were hospitalized in serious condition.
Baza also reported that no device was thrown into the police car; instead, the explosive was attached beneath the vehicle and detonated when it began moving.
The killed policemen took part in the war against Ukraine and tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war, RBC-Ukraine reported, citing sources in the Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine’s Defense Ministry (GUR).
The Russian police officers who were killed had previously taken part in combat against Ukraine as part of the Russian army, the GUR added.
There is also evidence of their involvement in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war, which Russians systematically carry out in violation of the Geneva Conventions and the rules and customs of war.
According to Russian media, the explosion occurred around 2 a.m. near a police station, close to the site where two days earlier Russian Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed in a car explosion. It is possible the police vehicle was not the intended target, as witnesses reported seeing a suspicious hooded man walking around the neighborhood and peering into parked cars.
Sarvarov’s car exploded on Yasenevaya Street in Moscow, in a residential complex where many Russian military personnel live. Initial reports mentioned only a dead servicemember; it was later confirmed to be Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who headed the General Staff’s Directorate of Operational Training.
