Car bomb kills senior Russian military official near Moscow
Colonel Damir Davydov, head of the Russian military's artillery and missile ammunition supply directorate, died in a car bombing in Balashikha. Ukraine has not yet commented.
A senior Russian military official was killed in a car bombing near Moscow on Tuesday morning, according to media reports. The explosion occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. in the city of Balashikha when an explosive device planted under a BMW detonated as Colonel Damir Davydov was driving near his home, the independent outlet Astra reported.
Davydov, 57, headed the Russian military's artillery and missile ammunition supply directorate, a key logistics role responsible for overseeing the distribution of weapons to the armed forces. The incident is the latest in a series of assassinations targeting Russian military officials and prominent pro-war figures since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The Kremlin confirmed the explosion on Wednesday and stated that President Vladimir Putin had been informed. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov declined to provide details on the investigation, saying that information related to the ongoing inquiry cannot be disclosed and that it is a matter for the special services.
Security camera footage shared by pro-Kremlin media appeared to show Davydov's vehicle erupting in flames and rolling into a parked car. The Telegram channel Mash reported that bystanders pulled the driver from the wreckage, but he died from his injuries shortly afterward.
A bystander who tried to help Davydov told Astra that the colonel was still alive after being pulled from the vehicle. "All of his clothes were on fire. I put out the flames on his T-shirt and tore it off so it wouldn't burn his skin... Looking at him, it was clear he was unlikely to survive," the person said.
Ukraine has not yet commented on the incident. Russian lawmaker and retired general Vladimir Shamanov condemned the attack as an "outrage" and added that such insolence should be met with the same response.
Since the start of the war, Ukrainian intelligence agencies have targeted dozens of senior Russian military officers and Moscow-installed officials in occupied territories, accusing many of involvement in war crimes. The latest assassination will intensify scrutiny of Russia's internal security apparatus and its ability to protect senior officials.
The attack took place less than a mile from where, just over a year ago, Lieutenant General Yaroslav Moskalik, the deputy head of the Russian armed forces' main operations directorate, was killed in a similar car bombing.
Little is known about the clandestine Ukrainian networks believed to be operating inside Russia and Russia-controlled territories, carrying out assassinations and attacks on military infrastructure far behind the front line.
Russian state media also reported a separate incident in Moscow on Tuesday, saying there was an attempt to kill an employee of a scientific-industrial enterprise. Citing Russia's Investigative Committee, RIA Novosti reported that a teenage girl allegedly retrieved an explosive device from a dead drop on the instructions of Ukrainian handlers and passed it to a teenage boy. Both teenagers were detained before the device could be used.
