Latest: Pro-Russian collaborator Sarkisyan dies in hospital after Moscow explosion, media reports.
An explosion occurred in the lobby of the "Alye Parusa" (Scarlet Sails) residential complex in northwestern Moscow on Feb. 3, killing a man and injuring four people, the state news agency TASS reported, citing emergency services.
The pro-state outlet Kommersant identified one of the injured victims as Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russian collaborator from Donetsk Oblast wanted by Ukraine. Other victims, including the man killed in the explosion, reportedly include Sarkisyan's security guards.
Sarkisyan is a crime boss and a close associate of Ukraine's pro-Kremlin ex-President Viktor Yanukovych and has been on the international wanted list since 2014 for organizing murders in central Kyiv, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said. During the EuroMaidan Revolution, Sarkisyan reportedly organized the hired pro-government thugs ("titushky") who harrassed pro-EuroMaidan protesters.
After the full-scale war broke out, Sarkisyan organized the "Arbat" Separate Guards Special Purpose Battalion fighting against Ukraine. The unit is reportedly made up of ethnic Armenians, many of whom have criminal records.
While some initial reports suggested that Sarkisyan was killed in the blast, Kommersant wrote that he was hospitalized and is in critical condition. According to the Telegram channel 112, Sarkisyan is in a coma, and his leg had to be amputated.
The blast was caused by an unidentified explosive device, with Russian law enforcement services suspecting a murder plot, TASS reported, citing authorities. The explosion reportedly occurred when Sarkisyan and his guards were entering the building.
The Kyiv Independent could not verify the claims. Ukraine is yet to comment on the explosion.
Russia's Investigative Committee has launched an investigation into the blast.
While there is no evidence linking Ukraine to the explosion, Ukrainian intelligence services have been connected to a number of high-profile assassinations in Russia and Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine during the full-scale war.
In December, Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, the head of the Russian Armed Forces' radiation, chemical, and biological defense troops, was killed in an explosion in Moscow in an SBU operation, a source in the agency told the Kyiv Independent.
Martin Fornusek
