A Russian general was killed Monday morning when an explosive device detonated beneath his car in southern Moscow, marking the third assassination of a senior military officer in just over a year.

Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Operational Training Directorate of the Russian Armed Forces' General Staff, died from injuries sustained in the blast, according to Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia's Investigative Committee, the nation's top criminal investigation agency.

The 56-year-old officer was a veteran of combat operations in Chechnya during the 1990s and early 2000s, and led military operations in Syria between 2015 and 2016, according to Russian state media. He was promoted to lieutenant general by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2024.

The investigative group Proyekt reported that Sarvarov also participated in Russia's war against Ukraine.

Russian news outlets reported that the car exploded in a parking lot on Moscow's Yasenevaya Street at approximately 7 a.m. local time. Images released by the Investigative Committee showed a heavily damaged white car with large sections of the vehicle's body missing. The driver's seat was stained with blood and debris was scattered across the parking lot.

Investigation points to possible Ukrainian involvement

Russia's Investigative Committee said it has opened a criminal investigation into the killing and is examining the scene for forensic evidence.

"Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder," Petrenko said in a statement. "One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services."

Ukraine has not commented on Monday's attack. The country's military intelligence agency, the GUR, did not respond to requests for comment from international media outlets.

As a matter of policy, Ukraine does not officially admit or claim responsibility for targeted attacks. However, Ukrainian sources have privately acknowledged involvement in previous assassinations of Russian military figures.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that President Putin was "immediately" informed about Sarvarov's death.

Pattern of assassinations since invasion began

Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a series of high-profile military officials and public figures have been targeted in and around Moscow.

In December 2024, Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, chief of Russia's nuclear, biological and chemical protection forces, was killed when a bomb hidden on an electric scooter exploded outside his apartment building in Moscow. His assistant, Ilya Polikarpov, was also killed in the attack.

A Ukrainian source later told the BBC that Ukraine's security service, the SBU, was responsible for the Kirillov killing. An Uzbek man was quickly arrested and charged with carrying out the assassination on behalf of Ukrainian intelligence.

Putin described Kirillov's killing as a "major blunder" by Russia's security agencies, noting they should learn from it and improve their efficiency.

In April, Lt. Gen. Yaroslav Moskalik, a deputy head of the main operational department in the General Staff, was killed when an explosive device detonated under his car near his apartment building in a Moscow suburb. Russian investigators said Moskalik had been under surveillance before the attack and accused Ukrainian secret services of involvement. A suspect was quickly arrested.

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." He did not mention Moskalik by name.

Ukraine's unconventional warfare tactics

Ukraine, which is outnumbered by Russia's larger military, has frequently attempted to change the course of the conflict through unconventional attacks.

In August 2024, Ukrainian forces staged a surprise incursion into Russia's Kursk region even as they struggled to stem Russian offensives along the front line. Moscow's troops eventually drove them out, but the operation distracted Russian military resources from other areas.

Ukraine has also launched repeated attacks on the Russian navy in the Black Sea using sea drones and missiles, forcing Russia to relocate warships and limit operations.

In June, swarms of drones launched from trucks targeted bomber bases across Russia in what Kyiv called Operation Spiderweb. Ukraine claimed over 40 long-range bombers were damaged or destroyed, though Moscow said only several aircraft were struck.

This month, Ukraine said one of its underwater drones had destroyed a Russian submarine at a Black Sea port, a claim Russia denied.

Timing coincides with peace talks

Sarvarov's death comes as negotiations over a U.S.-sponsored peace proposal continued over the weekend in Miami.

U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner met separately with Ukrainian and European representatives, as well as Russian officials, in a series of discussions aimed at ending the nearly four-year-old conflict.

Witkoff issued a statement calling the talks with the Ukrainian delegation "productive and constructive," noting that particular attention was given to "timelines and the sequencing of next steps."

Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev, who met separately with Witkoff and Kushner, said Saturday the talks had been "proceeding constructively." Dmitriev was scheduled to return to Moscow on Monday to report to Putin on the outcome of the negotiations.

However, Yuri Ushakov, a top aide to Putin, said most of the proposals were "rather unconstructive" and would most likely be rejected, according to the Russian state news agency Tass.

It remains unclear whether the death of a high-ranking officer will affect the ongoing negotiations.

Russian military bloggers respond

Russian military bloggers, some of whom have criticized any prospect of a ceasefire with Ukraine until Russia achieves its maximalist goals in the war, pointed fingers at Ukrainian special services and called the incident a sign of prolonged hostility ahead.

"It's hard to talk about peace when your opponent is preparing for an even bigger war. I think we need to call things by their proper names and stop lulling the public," state television reporter and blogger Andrei Rudenko wrote on Telegram.

Other bloggers called on Russian law enforcement to ensure better protections for military servicemen.

"It's hard to win when the rear is an open thoroughfare," wrote military blogger Yuri Kotenok. "Unfortunately, war teaches nothing."