Pro-Putin paramilitary leader killed by bomb blast in luxury Moscow apartment
3 February 2025, 12:14
A pro-Russian paramilitary leader from Eastern Ukraine was killed in a bomb blast in the lobby of a luxury apartment building in Moscow.
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A bomb exploded as a man with bodyguards entered the Scarlet Sails complex in the capital city, reported Russian media.
Videos from Russia's main investigative agency show doors with shattered glass and debris from the explosion strewn around the building's lobby.
Early reports said one person has died and four others were wounded. The identity of the person killed in the blast is unknown but could possibly be one of the bodyguards.
The fatal attack targeted Armen Sarkisyan, a Russian sympathiser who has been accused of supporting the country's war in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.
Russian authorities have launched a criminal case and are investigating the explosion.
One police official said the attack "was carefully planned and was ordered," according to TASS.
"Investigators are currently identifying those who ordered the crime."
Mr Sarkisyan has been described as a "crime boss" in the Donetsk region by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service.
The SBU said Mr Sarkisyan had recruited local convict fighters into a pro-Russian military group and organised supply purchases for Vladimir Putin's units on the frontline.
It comes after Ukraine claimed responsibility for a bomb attack outside a Moscow apartment complex that killed Russian General Igot Kirillov in December.
Ukraine has not yet commented on the latest attack.
