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Moscow: Bomb Blast Kills Pro-Russia Paramilitary Leader

The blast occurred on Monday (Feb 3) at the Scarlet Sails residential complex, located along the Moscow River.

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Moscow: Bomb Blast Kills Pro-Russia Paramilitary Leader

A powerful explosion in the lobby of a luxury apartment complex in Moscow has killed Armen Sarkisyan, a pro-Russia paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, along with his bodyguard.

The blast occurred on Monday (Feb 3) at the Scarlet Sails residential complex, located along the Moscow River.

According to Russia’s Tass news agency, the explosion took place as Sarkisyan, who headed the boxing federation in Russian-occupied Donetsk and founded the “Arbat” battalion, entered the building with his security personnel. The bomb detonated instantly, killing his bodyguard on the spot, while Sarkisyan sustained critical injuries and later died in the hospital.

Russian security agencies have labeled the incident a targeted assassination, though no group has claimed responsibility.

Sarkisyan had a controversial past, known for his support of pro-Russia forces in Ukraine. In 2014, Kyiv issued an international arrest warrant against him, accusing him of involvement in violent crackdowns on pro-EU protesters during the Maidan uprising. He later founded the Arbat paramilitary battalion, which has been active in eastern Ukraine and Russia’s Kursk region since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022.

Footage from the lobby of the apartment complex revealed a heavily damaged entrance, with shattered glass and a blown-out door.

Sergei Markov, a pro-Kremlin analyst, commented on the attack via the Telegram messaging app, stating, “Ukraine carried out a terrorist attack in the super-elite complex Alye Parusa [Scarlet Sails]. This is how Ukraine’s terrorist attacks are getting closer to the Russian elite.”