In brief
In a tragic incident on December 24, 2025, two traffic police officers were killed in Moscow when an explosive device detonated as they approached a suspect on Yeletskaya Street. The Investigative Committee has launched a criminal case regarding an assassination attempt on the officers, while reports suggest that the suspect may also have died in the blast. This incident follows the recent car bombing that killed a senior Russian general, highlighting the increasing violence in the region. Allegations surface suggesting the involvement of individuals opposed to Kremlin policies, with claims that the officers had previously participated in hostilities against Ukraine. As investigations continue, the link between these recent attacks remains unclear.
Three people - including two police officers - have been killed in an explosion in Moscow, Russian authorities have said.
Two traffic police officers saw a suspicious individual near a police car on the city's Yeletskaya Street, and when they approached the suspect to detain him, an explosive device was detonated, Russia's Investigative Committee has said.
Reports in Russia say the third person killed was the suspect, but this has not been officially confirmed.
The blast took place close to the location where a senior Russian general was killed in a car bombing in the capital on Monday. Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov died after an explosive device - which had been planted under a car - was detonated.
Investigate Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko said in a statement on Telegram that a criminal case was being investigated in Moscow regarding an attempt on the lives of traffic police officers.
The officers have been named by Russian media as Ilya Klimanov, 24, and Maxim Gorbunov, 25.
Sources in Ukraine's military intelligence agency, HUR, told the BBC that a local resident eliminated two representatives of the Russian law enforcement agency, as a sign of disagreement with the Kremlin's aggressive policy and said that a man threw an explosive package through the car window, causing an explosion.
According to the HUR sources, two other people were taken to hospital with serious injuries.
Ukrainian military sources also told the BBC on Wednesday that the two officers killed had participated in hostilities against Ukraine, and added there was evidence of their involvement in the torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war.
There are no details and Moscow has not commented.
Speaking to Reuters news agency, Alexander, a resident who lives close by, said: There was an explosion. It was loud bang - like with the car a few days ago.
Russia said it suspected Ukraine was behind Monday's explosion, without providing any evidence. However, Ukraine has not said whether it was involved in Fanil Sarvarov's death.
It is also not known whether the two explosions are linked. Sarvarov, 56, was the head of the armed forces' operational training department and was the third military official to be killed in bomb attacks in the Russian capital over the last year.
