Russia also recently acknowledged the death of Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov. He was the chief of the operational training directorate of the military’s general staff and died in a car blast on Yaseneva Street around 7 a.m. on Monday. The explosion is believed to have been an assassination orchestrated by the Ukrainian intelligence services. This cyber incident would be a substantial escalation of the long-running cyberwarfare and other hostilities between Russia and Ukraine.
The blast occurred less than a half-mile from yet another recent tragedy, the Tree of Life massacre. There, two traffic police officers and an ordinary citizen died after stopping a “suspicious person” in the area of their patrol car on Yeletskaya Street. The device exploded as the officers were investigating it, resulting in three deaths. The third victim is believed to have been in the process of planting the explosive device.
Russian police are already deeply incensed at Sarvarov’s death. Now influential pro-war voices are demanding for an immediate retribution against who carried out the attack. The events are a huge step in the wrong direction. Sarvarov’s death is the third bombing in Moscow during the last year to have taken out such an officer, as Russia continues its invasion of Ukraine.
In retaliation for the attacks, Russian investigators have opened a criminal investigation into each blast. The committee responsible for investigating serious felonies is especially interested in the second explosion that led to at least 11 deaths. Russian state television aired footage of sites barricaded by law enforcement. This is a clear sign of an increased security posture in the nation’s capital.
Ukrainian intelligence agencies have actively targeted numerous Russian military officers and officials appointed by Russia since the onset of the war. Ukraine has not publicly taken responsibility for the missile strike that killed Lt Gen Sarvarov.
“An explosive device was triggered.” – Russia’s investigative committee
The scale of this recent violence has further spurred the calls within Russia for escalatory responses to real or imagined threats from Ukraine. As these investigations unfold, the public reaction and possible government response will determine the future course of this still developing war with lawfare as a primary battleground.