On February 3, 2025, the death of Armen Sarkisyan, a key pro-Russian separatist figure and founder of a battalion engaged in combat in eastern Ukraine, was reported following a bomb explosion in a gated community in Moscow. Russian news outlets claimed Sarkisyan was critically injured in the incident at the Scarlet Sails apartment complex and later succumbed to his injuries in a hospital. The blast reportedly injured four other individuals and tragically claimed the life of Sarkisyan’s bodyguard.
Pro-Russian Figure Killed in Moscow Explosion: Investigative Committee Reports
Pro-Russian Figure Killed in Moscow Explosion: Investigative Committee Reports
A prominent separatist leader from Ukraine has died in a Moscow blast, raising concerns over the ongoing conflict's backlash in Russia.
The Russian Investigative Committee, typically responsible for addressing high-profile criminal cases, has initiated an inquiry into the explosion, although no suspects have been publicly identified at this time. It is not confirmed if Sarkisyan resided in the affected apartment complex. The explosion marks a significant and violent event in Moscow, echoing a previous assassination of a Russian general in December 2024, which Ukraine claimed responsibility for.
Sarkisyan had previously been implicated in serious allegations in Ukraine, including orchestrating violent acts against anti-government protesters during the upheaval in 2014, aligning himself with Russia's efforts during the conflict in Ukraine since then. The mayor of the Russian-controlled town of Horlivka, Ivan Prikhodko, acknowledged Sarkisyan's impacting role in military operations in the Donetsk region.
As news of the deadly explosion broke, Ukrainian officials had yet to respond, leaving the larger implications of the incident, particularly in the context of ongoing violence in the region, uncertain. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov declined to comment, citing the ongoing official investigation into the circumstances surrounding the blast.
The chaos of the conflict continues to reverberate, showcasing the precariousness of both Russian-transitional elements and Ukrainian statehood amid a landscape of explosions and violence from both sides.
Sarkisyan had previously been implicated in serious allegations in Ukraine, including orchestrating violent acts against anti-government protesters during the upheaval in 2014, aligning himself with Russia's efforts during the conflict in Ukraine since then. The mayor of the Russian-controlled town of Horlivka, Ivan Prikhodko, acknowledged Sarkisyan's impacting role in military operations in the Donetsk region.
As news of the deadly explosion broke, Ukrainian officials had yet to respond, leaving the larger implications of the incident, particularly in the context of ongoing violence in the region, uncertain. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov declined to comment, citing the ongoing official investigation into the circumstances surrounding the blast.
The chaos of the conflict continues to reverberate, showcasing the precariousness of both Russian-transitional elements and Ukrainian statehood amid a landscape of explosions and violence from both sides.
