Pro-Russia paramilitary leader killed in Moscow blast

According to Russian media reports, Armen Sarkisyan, the leader of the pro-Russian paramilitary group "Arbat" battalion in eastern Ukraine, died in a hospital on Monday morning from severe injuries sustained in an explosion in Moscow. The explosion occurred in the entrance hall of a residential building in northwest Moscow, 12 kilometers from the Kremlin.

Sarkisyan was airlifted to a hospital after the explosion and placed in intensive care, but ultimately succumbed to his injuries. Usually reliable Telegram sources confirmed the news. It was reported that others, including one of Sarkisyan's bodyguards, were also seriously injured, with some sources claiming another person died.

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) stated in December last year that "crime boss" Sarkisyan was suspected of "recruiting prisoners to fight in Ukraine," adding that he had been on an international wanted list since May 2014 for his involvement in murders carried out in central Kyiv. The SBU also said that Sarkisyan was a member of the inner circle of fugitive former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych.

TASS quoted a law enforcement official as saying, "The assassination attempt on Sarkisyan was carefully planned and ordered. Investigators are currently working to identify those who ordered the crime." Images shared on social media show a severely damaged entrance hall littered with rubble and plaster, with windows and doors blown out.

Olga Voronova, a 36-year-old mother living in the building next to the explosion site, told AFP that she was "very scared" and did not understand how the explosion happened. "We have very strict security, they ask every car at the checkpoint, we order passes for guests and even family," she said.

Sarkisyan was born in the city of Horlivka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014. The city's mayor, Ivan Prikhodko, confirmed his death in a Telegram post, stating that Sarkisyan's "most important achievement was the creation and leadership of an independent special forces battalion." Prikhodko said Sarkisyan was also the president of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Boxing Federation.

It is understood that the "Arbat" battalion had been active in the Kursk region of Russia and maintained a presence there after a raid by Ukrainian forces in August. Recently, there has been a series of attacks in Moscow and occupied territories targeting high-profile supporters of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

In late 2024, senior Russian naval officer Valery Trankovsky and Russian prison chief Sergei Yevsyukov were killed in car bomb attacks in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories. In December last year, a Ukrainian source told the BBC that a senior Russian armed forces general and his aide were killed in Moscow by Ukrainian security services.