Pro-Russia Ukrainian paramilitary leader assassinated by bomb attack in Moscow

A bomb tore through the lobby of a luxury apartment block in Moscow on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring four others in an attack targeting a pro-Russian paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, the state TASS news agency reported.

Armen Sarkisyan, a senior pro-Russian paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, died in hospital on Monday after being critically injured in the bomb blast, Russia’s Kommersant newspaper said.

The bomb detonated just as a man with bodyguards entered the lobby of the the “Scarlet Sails” complex on the banks of the Moskva River just 12 km (7 miles) from the Kremlin, according to Russian media.

TASS, citing law enforcement services, called the blast an “assassination attempt” and identified the suspected target as Armen Sarkisyan, who is accused by Ukraine of aiding Russia’s war effort in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk.

RIA, another state news agency, cited law enforcement as saying that Sarkisyan was in a critical condition, and that part of his leg was being amputated.

“The assassination attempt on Sarkisyan was carefully planned and was ordered. Investigators are currently identifying those who ordered the crime,” TASS quoted a law enforcement official as saying.

Baza, a Telegram channel with contacts in Russia’s security services, published video showing major damage to the lobby of the building. It said Sarkisyan had been seriously wounded in the blast. Reuters could not immediately confirm that report.

In December, Ukraine’s SBU security service described Sarkisyan as a “crime boss” in the Donetsk region, much of which has been controlled by Moscow since 2014, and that he was officially suspected of participating in and aiding “illegal armed groups”.

It said he had formed a pro-Russian military formation made up of local convict fighters and had organised purchases of supplies for frontline units.

In December, Ukraine took credit for the killing of Russian General Igor Kirillov in a bomb blast outside a Moscow apartment building. There was no immediate comment from Ukraine on Monday’s blast.