Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, December 22, 2025
Last updated: December 22, 2025
What happened: At approximately 7:00 AM Moscow time (04:00 GMT) on December 22, 2025, an explosive device detonated beneath a vehicle in a car park on Yaseneva Street in southern Moscow. The explosion killed Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian general staff's army operational training directorate.
Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov led the operational training department within Russia's General Staff. This directorate is responsible for planning and coordinating military exercises, combat training programs, and operational readiness across the Russian armed forces. The role is significant in the context of Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, where training pipeline capacity directly affects front-line combat effectiveness.
Russia's Investigative Committee opened a murder investigation immediately after the attack. Spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko stated that investigators are "pursuing numerous lines of inquiry," including the possibility that Ukrainian intelligence services orchestrated the killing.
Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) has not commented on the attack.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, several senior Russian military officials have been killed in targeted assassinations attributed to or claimed by Ukrainian special services. These attacks represent a shadow war conducted far from the front lines.
Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, killed by bomb hidden on electric scooter outside his Moscow apartment. Ukraine's SBU claimed responsibility.
Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the main operational department of the General Staff, killed by car bomb.
Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov killed by car bomb in southern Moscow. Investigation ongoing.
These assassinations serve multiple purposes beyond eliminating individual commanders:
The targeting of training command officials suggests an interest in degrading Russia's ability to prepare reinforcements for the front lines.
This page compiles publicly available information about the Sarvarov assassination. The investigation is ongoing and attribution has not been confirmed. Information may be updated as more details emerge.