MOSCOW (AP) — Russian’s transport minister was discovered lifeless from a gunshot wound in an obvious suicide, investigators mentioned Monday — information that broke hours after the Kremlin introduced he had been dismissed by President Vladimir Putin.
The Kremlin didn’t give a motive for the firing of Roman Starovoit, who served as transport minister since Could 2024, and it was unclear when precisely he died and whether or not it was associated to an alleged embezzlement case, as some Russian media advised.
Russia’s Investigative Committee, the highest felony investigation company, mentioned the physique of Starovoit, 53, was discovered with a gunshot wound in his automotive parked in Odintsovo, a neighborhood simply west of the capital the place members of Russia’s elite dwell. A gun beforehand offered to him as an official reward was discovered subsequent to his physique.
A felony probe was launched into the loss of life, and investigators noticed suicide because the most definitely trigger, in keeping with committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, who didn’t say when Starovoit died.
Russian media have reported that Starovoit’s dismissal might have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allotted for constructing fortifications within the Kursk area, the place he served as governor earlier than being appointed transportation minister.
The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of many causes for deficiencies in Russia’s defensive traces that did not stem a shock Ukrainian incursion within the area launched in August 2024. Within the beautiful assault, Ukraine’s battle-hardened mechanized items rapidly overwhelmed flippantly armed Russian border guards and inexperienced military conscripts. Lots of had been taken prisoner.
The incursion was a humiliating blow to the Kremlin — the primary time the nation’s territory was occupied by an invader since World Warfare II.
The Russian army had introduced its troops had totally reclaimed the border territory in April — almost 9 months after dropping chunks of the area.
Starovoit’s successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement prices in April. Some Russian media have alleged that Starovoit additionally might have confronted prices as a part of the investigation.
His dismissal additionally adopted a weekend of journey chaos as Russian airports had been compelled to floor a whole lot of flights on account of Ukrainian drone assaults. Most commentators mentioned, nevertheless, that the air site visitors disruptions have turn out to be customary amid frequent Ukrainian drone raids and had been unlikely to have triggered his dismissal.
An official order releasing Starovoit from his put up was revealed on the Kremlin’s web site Monday morning with out giving a motive for his dismissal.
Shortly earlier than the information of Starovoit’s loss of life broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to touch upon the explanations behind his dismissal.
Peskov praised Starovoit’s alternative, Andrei Nikitin, who had been appointed deputy transport minister 5 months in the past.
