An explosion in the lobby of a residential complex in northeastern Moscow early Monday killed a pro-Kremlin paramilitary leader from eastern Ukraine, according to state media reports citing medical and law enforcement authorities.
Armen Sarkisyan, founder of the irregular Arbat Battalion, succumbed to his injuries after being hospitalized in critical condition, the state-run TASS news agency reported. Russia’s Investigative Committee, responsible for probing major crimes, later confirmed his death.
According to the Kommersant business daily, one of Sarkisyan’s bodyguards was also killed in the blast, while a total of five people were wounded.
Video footage released by law enforcement showed extensive damage to the lobby of the Scarlet Sails residential complex, located along the Moscow River.
TASS reported that the attack was “ordered and carefully planned,” though no suspects were immediately identified.
Investigators are treating the explosion as a criminal case but may reclassify it as a terrorism investigation if evidence suggests Ukrainian involvement, Kommersant noted.
Sarkisyan’s Arbat Battalion, which fights alongside Russian forces in the war against Ukraine, consists of around 500 members, most of whom are ethnic Armenians, according to Kommersant.
Russian media reports indicate that Sarkisyan was born in Armenia but moved to the eastern Ukrainian city of Horlivka at a young age.
