Pro-Russia Ukrainian paramilitary leader killed in Moscow blast

Shafaq News/ A pro-Russia paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine and his bodyguard were killed in a bomb explosion at the entrance of a luxury apartment complex in Moscow, Russian state media reported on Monday.
The intended target of the blast was Armen Sarkisyan, a Ukrainian paramilitary figure accused by Kyiv of aiding Russian forces in their war efforts, according to the state-owned TASS news agency. Initially reported to be in critical condition, Sarkisyan later succumbed to his injuries in the hospital.
Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said the explosive device detonated as Sarkisyan entered the building with his security detail, killing one of his guards. Footage published by TASS showed a severely damaged lobby littered with debris. The red-brick high-rise, known as the “Scarlet Sails” complex, sits along the Moskva River, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) from the Kremlin.
Authorities described the attack as a carefully planned assassination. “Investigators are working to identify those responsible for ordering the crime,” TASS quoted a law enforcement official as saying. The Kremlin said special services were at the scene but declined further comment while the investigation was ongoing.
Kyiv has not yet responded to the incident.
Sarkisyan, long wanted by Ukraine, was accused by the SBU security service of recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine. In December, the SBU labeled him a “crime boss” in the Donetsk region and a key figure in pro-Russian armed groups.
Born in Armenia but raised in eastern Ukraine’s Horlivka, Sarkisyan was close to ousted Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, according to Ukrainian authorities. He had been on Kyiv’s wanted list since 2014, accused of organizing killings during Ukraine’s pro-EU uprising.
Russian media reported that in 2022, he formed a unit called “ArBAT,” composed of around 500 fighters, mostly ethnic Armenians.
The explosion follows a series of high-profile assassinations and mysterious blasts inside Russia since it launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In December, Ukraine claimed responsibility for the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in a bombing outside a Moscow apartment complex.