Three individuals, including two police officers, lost their lives in an explosion in Moscow on Wednesday, according to Russian investigators. This incident occurred just days after a car bomb killed a high-ranking general in the same area, raising concerns about security in the capital.
The officers were approaching a suspicious individual when the explosive device detonated, as stated by Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for the Investigative Committee. The two traffic police officers, along with another civilian nearby, succumbed to their injuries at the scene. Investigators and forensic experts have since been deployed to examine the site of the explosion.
The explosion took place in southern Moscow, close to where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, the head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, was killed by a car bomb on Monday morning. The device detonated under his vehicle, marking a significant escalation in violent incidents targeting senior military officials.
Authorities have indicated that Ukraine may be implicated in the attack on Sarvarov, which is part of a troubling pattern involving the killings of high-ranking military officers within Russia. Investigators noted that this incident marks the third assassination of a senior military figure in just over a year.
In December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb concealed on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. His assistant also lost their life in that attack, which was claimed by Ukraine’s security service. An Uzbek national was arrested shortly after and charged with orchestrating the attack on Kirillov.
Earlier in April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, died when an explosive device was placed in his car parked near his residence outside Moscow. Authorities apprehended a suspect shortly thereafter.
Since the onset of the conflict in Ukraine nearly four years ago, Russian officials have attributed multiple assassinations of military personnel and public figures to Ukrainian operatives. While Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of these incidents, the ongoing violence continues to escalate tensions between the two nations.
As investigations proceed, the implications of these attacks on the overall security landscape in Moscow remain significant, prompting increased scrutiny on both military and public safety measures in the region.
