2 Police Officers Killed in Moscow Explosion Near Site of Russian General’s Killing

Two police officers and a third person were killed after a bomb went off in Moscow on Dec. 24, near the site where a Russian general was killed by a car bomb explosion two days earlier.

The third individual has been labeled as the suspect by Russian authorities, who said that the officers approached the man after they saw him acting suspiciously.

“According to the investigation, in the early morning hours of Dec. 24, two traffic police officers saw a suspicious person near their patrol car on Yeletskaya Street in Moscow,” the press service of the Russian Investigative Committee said, according to Russian state news agency TASS.

“When they approached to detain him, an explosive detonated. As a result, the two policemen and the suspect died.”

The committee added that criminal cases have been opened, with investigators and forensic experts examining the incident site, interviewing eyewitnesses, and reviewing video footage.

The investigation is being pursued under Article 317 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (attempt on the life of a law enforcement officer) and Part 1 of Article 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (illegal trafficking in explosive devices).

It was subsequently announced that the investigation had been taken over by the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office.

Russia’s Ministry of the Internal Affairs has identified the two officers as Police Lieutenant Ilya Klimanov, aged 24, and Police Lieutenant Maxim Gorbunov, aged 25.

The blast that killed the two officers occurred near the spot where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed in a car bomb explosion on Dec. 22.

Sarvarov, 56, was head of the Operational Training Directorate at the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces and served extensively in Moscow’s military during his career, being awarded the Order of Courage, the Suvorov Medal, and the Order of Merit to the Fatherland, first and second class, according to TASS.

Russian Investigative Committee Spokeswoman Svetlana Petrenko confirmed the same day that Moscow was pursuing several lines of inquiry, including “that the crime was organized by the Ukrainian security agencies.”

Though Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for killing Sarvarov, Kyiv’s Spravdi strategic communications center, which operates under the auspices of the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture, noted his death in a post on X.

“Russian Generals continue exploding back home in Russia, with another today in Moscow,” it stated.

“Major General Fanil Sarvarov died this morning at 7 a.m. when his car exploded. Responsible for many atrocities, Sarvarov participated in operations during the invasion of Georgia, Chechnya, Syria, and Ukraine. He will no longer be doing any of these things.”

Sarvarov’s death was not the first time a member of the Russian top brass had been killed in a bomb attack.

A year ago, on Dec. 17, 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb that was hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building in an attack that also claimed the life of his assistant.

Ukraine’s security service did claim responsibility for that attack.

An Uzbek man was arrested and charged with killing Kirillov on behalf of the Ukrainian security service.

In April, another senior Russian military officer, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was also killed by a car bomb near his apartment building just outside Moscow.

Meanwhile, negotiations to end the war between Russia and Ukraine continue with representatives from Moscow, Kyiv, Washington, and various European capitals.

U.S. President Donald Trump, discussing the negotiations, told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida earlier this week that the talks were “going along,” but added that there is “tremendous hatred” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

When asked whether he had spoken to either of the leaders, he said, “I will do what I have to do” to end the war, saying that “the bottom line is, I think, they’re all tired of that war. Everyone is tired of that war.”

According to Vice President JD Vance, the main sticking point of the negotiations that remains is the issue of territory.