A senior Russian military commander has been assassinated in Moscow, marking the latest in a string of high-profile killings that the Kremlin has attributed to Ukrainian operatives. The incident adds to a grim tally of attacks on prominent figures since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine nearly four years ago.
Latest Attack: General Targeted in Capital
On Monday 22 December 2025, Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov was killed by a car bomb in the Russian capital. Russian investigators have stated they are examining potential Ukrainian involvement in the attack. Ukraine has not yet issued any official comment on the general's death. This event follows a consistent pattern where Kyiv has frequently hinted at or indirectly claimed responsibility for such operations, while often stopping short of direct public admission.
A Catalogue of High-Profile Assassinations
Russian authorities have accused Ukraine of orchestrating several other significant attacks on its soil. The targets have ranged from military commanders to propagandists and defectors.
Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed in December 2024. A bomb planted on a scooter exploded outside a Moscow apartment building, also killing his assistant. Notably, Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) had charged Kirillov in absentia just a day before his death for ordering chemical weapons use, and later claimed responsibility for the attack.
In April 2025, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy in the General Staff, died when a bomb detonated under his car near his home outside Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later referenced the "elimination of senior command personnel," though provided no specifics.
Other notable cases include the shooting of former submarine commander Stanislav Rzhitsky in July 2023, and the car bombing that injured nationalist writer Zakhar Prilepin in May 2023, killing his driver. The April 2023 cafe bombing that killed military blogger Vladlen Tatarsky in St Petersburg was also blamed on Kyiv.
Defectors and Denials
The campaign has also extended to Ukrainians seen as traitors. In December 2023, former Ukrainian MP Illia Kyva, who fled to Russia, was found shot dead near Moscow. A Ukrainian intelligence spokesman warned that "the same fate will befall other traitors."
Kyiv's approach to these incidents remains characteristically ambiguous. While the SBU has claimed some attacks, such as Kirillov's, its chief Vasyl Maliuk has declined direct responsibility for others like the Prilepin and Tatarsky bombings. However, he has often provided detailed, insider knowledge of the operations, describing them as karmic justice.
The war, now approaching its fourth year, has thus seen its front lines extend deep into Russian territory, with a shadowy conflict of assassinations and sabotage becoming a persistent feature. The killing of General Sarvarov underscores the ongoing and audacious nature of this covert struggle.
