Wednesday | 24th December 2025
Two police officers were killed early Wednesday morning in Moscow after a bomb exploded near a police vehicle, in an attack that heightened security concerns in the Russian capital just days after a senior military officer was assassinated nearby. The blast occurred close to the site of a car bombing that killed a top Russian general earlier this week, raising questions about a possible connection between the two incidents.
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the officers were responding to reports of a suspicious individual in the area when the person detonated an explosive device as police approached. The explosion occurred near a police car, killing both officers at the scene. The assailant was also killed in the blast, Russian state news agency TASS reported, citing law enforcement sources.
“In the course of operational measures, police officers approached a suspicious individual who activated an explosive device,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement released Wednesday. Authorities did not immediately disclose details about the type of explosive used or whether it had been carried on the suspect’s body or placed nearby.
Svetlana Petrenko, a spokesperson for the Investigative Committee, said investigators and forensic experts were continuing to examine the scene to determine the precise circumstances of the attack. Law enforcement officials are reviewing surveillance camera footage from the surrounding area and interviewing witnesses in an effort to establish the identity of the attacker and whether any accomplices were involved.
The deadly explosion comes just two days after a high-profile assassination shook the same neighborhood. On Monday morning, Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, who headed the armed forces’ operational training department, was killed when an explosive device planted under the chassis of a car detonated, investigators said. The blast occurred on a nearby street, underscoring growing concerns about security breaches in the heart of the capital.
Russian officials have suggested that Ukraine may have been behind the apparent targeted killing of the senior military officer. “Investigators are pursuing various motives for the murder,” the Investigative Committee said in a statement on Monday. “One of the theories is that the crime was organized by Ukrainian special services.”
Ukraine has not claimed responsibility for the attack on Sarvarov. However, since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, several prominent Russian figures — including military officers, officials, and pro-war commentators — have been killed in bombings and shootings in Moscow and other cities. Russian authorities have frequently blamed Ukrainian intelligence services for those attacks.
On Wednesday, investigators declined to say whether the bombing that killed the two police officers was linked to the assassination of Sarvarov. The Investigative Committee said the inquiry remains ongoing and that all possible scenarios are being considered.
The twin incidents have intensified scrutiny of security measures in Moscow, particularly as the war in Ukraine drags on and the Kremlin faces an increasing number of covert attacks deep inside Russian territory.
