A blast on Wednesday night in Moscow killed three people, among them two traffic police officers, in an incident that follows a car bomb killing a senior general just days earlier.
The Incident
According to Russia’s Investigative Committee spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, the explosion occurred when two traffic police officers were approaching a suspicious individual. Petrenko said the officers and another person standing nearby died from their injuries. The officers were Lt. Ilya Klimanov, 24, who joined the Moscow police in October 2023, and Lt. Maxim Gorbunov, 25, who had a wife and a 9-month-old daughter.
Ukrainian Intelligence Claims Involvement
An official from Ukraine’s military intelligence, known as GUR, told the Associated Press that the attack had been carried out as part of an agency operation. Another GUR official added that the police officers had taken part in Russia’s war in Ukraine, though he did not provide further details. Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
Russian Response
Russian authorities did not comment on who may be behind the attack. Since Moscow invaded Ukraine nearly four years ago, Russian authorities have blamed Kyiv for several assassinations of military officers and public figures in Russia. Ukraine has claimed responsibility for some of them.
The Context of Recent Attacks
The blast took place in the same area of the Russian capital where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces’ General Staff, was killed by a car bomb on Monday. Investigators have said they are looking into whether Ukraine was behind that attack, which was the third such killing of a senior military officer in just over a year. Ukraine has not commented on it.
Other Recent Incidents
Ukraine has frequently tried to change the course of the war by attacking in unexpected ways. In August last year, Ukrainian forces staged a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region even as they struggled to stem Russian offensives elsewhere. Moscow’s troops eventually drove them out, but the incursion diverted Russian military resources and raised Ukrainian morale.
In June, swarms of drones launched from trucks targeted bomber bases across Russia.
Moscow has also blamed assassinations on Ukraine. Just over a year ago, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, the chief of the military’s nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed by a bomb hidden on an electric scooter outside his apartment building. Kirillov’s assistant also died. Ukraine’s security service claimed responsibility for the attack.
In April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was killed by an explosive device placed in his car parked near his apartment building just outside Moscow.
Days after Moskalik’s killing, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he received a report from the head of Ukraine’s foreign intelligence agency on the “liquidation” of top Russian military figures, adding that “justice inevitably comes” although he didn’t mention Moskalik’s name.
International Reactions
Meanwhile, Western officials have accused Russia of staging a campaign of disruption and sabotage across Europe as part of an effort to sap support for Ukraine. Moscow has denied the claims.
Key Takeaways
- Three people died in a Moscow blast, including two traffic police officers, on Wednesday.
- Ukrainian military intelligence officials say the attack was part of an agency operation and that the officers had participated in Russia’s war in Ukraine.
- The explosion occurred near the site of a recent car bomb that killed senior general Fanil Sarvarov.
The incident adds to a series of high-profile attacks in Russia that have raised questions about the roles of Ukrainian intelligence and Russian security forces in the ongoing conflict.
