An investigator works at the scene where Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov was killed by an explosive device placed under his car in Moscow on December 22, 2025 (Via AP)

The head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces` General Staff was killed when an explosive device detonated beneath his car in the Yasenevo district of southern Moscow, Russian investigators have confirmed.

The incident occurred on Monday as Lieutenant General Fanil Sarvarov, 56, was traveling to work.

Early reports had indicated that an improvised explosive device had been planted under his Kia Sorento, which detonated shortly after the vehicle began moving.

Svetlana Petrenko, official spokesperson for Russia`s Investigative Committee, said authorities were pursuing multiple lines of inquiry into the killing. One line of investigation considered possible involvement by Ukrainian intelligence services.

In December 2024, Ukraine`s security service took credit for a similar attack targeting a senior Russian officer.

Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian military`s nuclear, biological, and chemical protection forces, was killed by an explosive device concealed on an electric scooter outside his residence, a day after Kiev filed criminal charges against him. His aide, Ilya Polikarpov, also died in the attack.

In April 2023, Russian military blogger Maxim Fomin was killed when a statuette exploded at a café in St. Petersburg.

And in August 2022, a car bomb claimed the life of Daria Dugina, daughter of influential Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin.

The Monday incident came amid the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and amid Russian officials` underway talks in Miami with their United States counterparts aimed at examining means to a potential end.

Most recently, Russian President Vladimir Putin`s representative for the negotiations, Kirill Dmitriev, described the talks as "constructive."

US envoy Steve Witkoff has also reported on social media that meetings with Dmitriev were "productive and constructive" and that "Russia remains fully committed to achieving peace in Ukraine."

He has additionally noted that American and Ukrainian officials had discussed a "peace plan."

Kiev, though, has come up with mixed signals ranging from President Volodymyr Zelensky`s rejecting a conflict resolution proposal by US President Donald Trump earlier this month to various other Ukrainian officials refusing to offer any commitment.