An explosive device reportedly detonated in the entrance of a Moscow apartment complex on Monday morning, injuring multiple people and killing the head of a Russian paramilitary unit. The incident echoes the December death of Russian chemical weapons chief Igor Kirillov, who was killed by an explosive device attached to a scooter. Here’s what we know about the apparent assassination.
An explosion rocked a high-end Moscow apartment complex on the morning of February 3. According to the Telegram channel Baza, which has ties to Russian law enforcement, an improvised explosive device detonated in the building’s entrance. State media outlet RIA Novosti described the blast as being caused by an “unidentified explosive device.”
The explosion reportedly killed at least one person and injured multiple others. The Telegram channels VChK-OGPU and 112, citing a doorman’s account, reported that the blast occurred as a resident entered the complex with security guards. The doorman claimed to have previously “seen this person on TV.”
The newspaper Kommersant, which also published the doorman’s claims, identified the individual as Armen Sarkisyan, head of the Boxing Federation of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” and founder of the Russian military’s Arbat Battalion. Kommersant and the state news agency TASS, as well as the Telegram channels Baza and Mash, later reported that Sarkisyan died from his injuries.
The latest reports indicate that four other people were injured in the blast. The Moscow Health Department described their condition as severe. Mash identified three of the injured as Sergey Shkryabatovsky, Darya Karseladze, and Oleg Kaspirovich.
The Russian Investigative Committee announced that a criminal case has been opened in connection with the explosion. According to Kommersant, authorities are investigating it as a case of murder or attempted murder of two or more persons.
In December 2024, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) announced it had launched a criminal case against Sarkisyan, identifying him as a criminal authority with close ties to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The agency alleged that after the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, the Russian military tasked Sarkisyan with forming the Arbat Battalion, which included “repeat offenders convicted of serious crimes.” According to the SBU, the battalion initially operated near the Ukrainian city of Toretsk before being moved to Russia’s embattled Kursk region. Sarkisyan was accused of voluntarily participating in illegal armed formations and assisting an aggressor state.
