A pro-Russian paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine was killed when a bomb tore through parts of this luxury apartment block in Moscow, according to Russian media. (AP: Investigative Committee of Moscow)
In short:
Pro-Russian paramilitary leader Armen Sarkisyan has been killed in a bomb explosion at a luxury apartment block in Moscow, according to Russian media.
The bomb detonated as the eastern Ukranian entered the basement of the complex, in what Russian investigators have described as a 'carefully planned' assassination.
Ukraine's security service previously described Mr Sarkisyan as a crime boss who was officially suspected of participating in and aiding 'illegal armed groups'.
A bomb at a luxury apartment block in Moscow has killed a pro-Russian paramilitary leader, according to state news agency TASS and other Russian media.
Armen Sarkisyan, from eastern Ukraine, died when the explosive detonated in the lobby of 'Scarlet Sails', a complex on the banks of the Moskva River just 12 kilometres from the Kremlin.Â
One bodyguard was killed and three more injured, the Kommersant newspaper said.
TASS called the bombing, on Monday, local time, a well-planned assassination.
Mr Sarkisyan was reported to be the founder of a volunteer battalion fighting in Ukraine and the head of a boxing federation in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Donetsk region.
Russian police officers were seen standing guard outside of the apartment block as investigators examined the blast site. (AP: Alexander Zemlianichenko)
"The assassination attempt on Sarkisyan was carefully planned and was ordered. Investigators are currently identifying those who ordered the crime," a law enforcement official said, according to TASS.
Baza, a Telegram channel with contacts in Russia's security services, also published video showing major damage to the building's lobby.
Reuters journalists on the scene saw police, shattered windows and a helicopter being used to transport the injured.
Russia strikes Ukrainian cities
Photo shows Rescue workers carry a man on a stretcher. In the background, a firefighter stands atop a long ladder
In December, Ukraine's SBU security service described Mr Sarkisyan as a crime boss in the Donetsk region, much of which has been controlled by Moscow since 2014, and said that he was officially suspected of participating in and aiding "illegal armed groups".
It said he had formed a pro-Russian military unit made up of local convict fighters and had organised purchases of supplies for frontline units.
Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet that covers law enforcement, reported that the Armenian-born Mr Sarkisyan had been a longtime organised crime figure in the Donetsk region city of Horlivka.
In 2022, it said, he founded a pro-Russian paramilitary unit composed mostly of his fellow ethnic Armenians to fight against Kyiv's forces.
In December, Ukraine took credit for the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in a bomb blast outside a Moscow apartment building. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Monday's blast.
Reuters
