00:01A senior Russian military official in Putin's Armed Forces General has been killed in a
00:14car bomb explosion in Moscow, according to Russia's investigative committee.
00:20The blast occurred early Monday morning in the southern part of the Russian capital,
00:24damaging several vehicles and initially leaving the driver of the targeted car critically injured.
00:32Russian officials later identified the victim as Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov,
00:37head of the Operational Training Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces.
00:44Investigators confirmed that Sarvarov later died from his injuries.
00:50According to the investigative committee, the explosive device had been planted beneath the vehicle.
00:55The blast struck Sarvarov's Kia Sorento as he was on his way to work in Moscow's Yasinevo district on Monday, December 22nd.
01:04Svetlana Petrenko, the official spokesperson for Russia's investigative committee,
01:10confirmed the death and said investigators were considering multiple possible scenarios.
01:16Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder.
01:22One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services.
01:28Russian officials noted that Ukraine has previously been accused of using explosive devices
01:35in targeted killings of officials and public figures.
01:38However, Ukrainian authorities have not publicly commented on the incident.
01:43Earlier, media reports had said the explosion seriously injured the driver
01:49and damaged at least seven other vehicles in the area.
01:52Witnesses described a powerful blast that caused confusion among residents.
01:58At first we thought a drone had been shot down.
02:02There was an explosion but there was no fire.
02:05Emergency crews launched a major rescue operation to free Sarvarov from the wreckage of the vehicle.
02:14Witnesses said he was initially alive but severely injured when responders reached him.
02:19According to early reports, the officer suffered multiple shrapnel wounds,
02:24closed fractures, leg injuries and a fractured facial bone.
02:28He was described as being in very serious condition before being hospitalised.
02:35Officials later confirmed he did not survive.
02:38Reports also said Sarvarov's wife rushed to the scene shortly after 7am
02:44but was not allowed to see her husband while he was trapped inside the damaged vehicle.
02:49Sarvarov, 56, was responsible for organising operational training for senior officers within Russia's Defence Ministry.
02:59His role included overseeing staff exercises and instructional programs for high-ranking military leadership.
03:06The killing comes amid heightened security concerns in Russia following previous high-profile attacks on senior military officials.
03:15In December last year, Lieutenant-General Igor Kirilov, commander of Russia's nuclear, chemical and biological defence forces,
03:22was killed along with his aide when a bomb hidden in an electric scooter detonated.
03:29Russian investigators at the time alleged that Kirilov's killing was part of a Ukrainian intelligence operation.
03:35That case, like the current one, involved the use of concealed explosive devices placed near or on vehicles.
03:44Following Monday's blast, the Russian investigative committee launched an immediate criminal investigation into the explosion.
03:51Authorities said they are examining forensic evidence from the scene, including the explosive mechanism and possible surveillance footage.
03:59Officials have not released details about potential suspects or arrests,
04:05and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
04:09Investigators say the case remains open, with multiple lines of enquiry still under review.
04:16That case is a parallel, which is a parallel, across the Secretary of State transmitters.
04:17This past year, is the only legal release of the attack.
04:18They are not responsible for the attack of the attack.
04:19The Alberto Kirilov Centre are un BeccaĂ°ins, which is a parallel to the attack.
04:20We saw that the incident's warring from one of the attack.
04:21You must have been aĐ˝ŃĐť as an enemy of the attack.
04:22When you're killed, you know the kill, you must have been aиŃнО-frook,
04:23and you are the current commander of the attack.
04:24You must have been a combatant for several reasons.
04:25The eros of the attack is now over the attack.
04:26Some people have been a bit committed.
04:27You may not have been a bit of an escape, you may not have a reopen,
04:29you cannot be a bit of a crisis in your life-year-old.
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