Days after Russian general's death, two police officers killed in explosion in Moscow

deuce constabulary officers and a thirdly individual were killed in an detonation in Russia's Moscow on Wednesday, the country’s top criminal investigation agency said. Authorities said earlier that the blast took place near the site where a senior Russian general, Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, was killed on Monday.

Images aired on Russian television showed the area sealed off amid a heavy police presence. Witnesses reportedly said the explosion occurred at around 1.30 am local time.

The two police officers later died from their injuries, along with a member of the public who was standing nearby, BBC reported.

According to the Investigative Committee, two traffic police officers noticed a “suspicious individual” near a police car on the city’s Yeletskaya Street. When they moved in to detain the suspect, an explosive device was set off, the report said.

The incident comes two days after Russian general Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov was killed in a explosion.

Lt Gen Fanil Sarvarov, head of the operational training directorate of the Russian armed forces’ general staff, died from his injuries after a car bomb exploded on Monday.

“Investigators are pursuing numerous lines of inquiry regarding the murder. One of these is that the crime was orchestrated by Ukrainian intelligence services,” said Svetlana Petrenko, spokesperson for Russia’s Investigative Committee, the country’s top criminal investigation agency.

According to his official biography on the defence ministry’s website, Sarvarov had served in the Russian army’s operations in the North Caucasus, including Chechnya, in the 1990s. He was also among those overseeing Russian forces in Syria during 2015 and 2016.

Russia has accused Ukraine of being behind several high-profile attacks on senior Russian figures since Moscow invaded its neighbour nearly four years ago.

Facing a larger and better-equipped Russian military, Ukraine has often sought to alter the course of the conflict through unexpected actions.

In August last year, Ukrainian forces carried out a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region while struggling to hold back Russian advances along other parts of the front line. Russian troops later pushed them out, but the move diverted Moscow’s military resources and lifted Ukrainian morale, AP reported.

Meanwhile, Western officials have accused Russia of conducting operations away from the battlefield, alleging it has carried out dozens of acts of disruption and sabotage across Europe to weaken support for Ukraine. Moscow has rejected these allegations.

With inputs from agencies

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