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Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit reportedly died by suicide on Monday, just hours after President Vladimir Putin publicly dismissed him from his position.
The decree announcing his dismissal was published on the Kremlin’s official website, with his deputy, Andrey Nikitin, appointed as acting minister.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, when questioned by reporters, denied that Starovoit’s dismissal was due to a “lack of trust” but offered no alternative explanation.
Investigation Underway Amid Embezzlement Allegations
The Investigative Committee of Russia stated that Starovoit’s body was found with a gunshot wound inside a car in Odintsovo, a Moscow suburb. While the circumstances of his death are under investigation, the “main theory is suicide.”
Before becoming a minister in May 2024, Starovoit served as the governor of the southern Russian Kursk region. Although he left that post before Ukraine’s recent incursion, he was partially blamed for security failures in the region.
Russian media outlets, including Vesti, RBC, and Kommersant, reported on Monday that Starovoit had been implicated in an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the region, with Kommersant indicating he was facing arrest.
Notably, Alexei Smirnov, Starovoit’s predecessor as Kursk governor, was arrested in April in connection with the same case.
Air Travel Disruption and Continued Attacks in Ukraine
Starovoit’s dismissal also coincided with a multi-day disruption to air travel across Russia.
The Russian Federal Agency for Air Transport reported 485 flight cancellations, 88 diversions, and 1,900 delays over the weekend and into Monday, attributing them to “external interference” without specific details.
However, the Russian Defence Ministry claimed to have intercepted over 400 Ukrainian long-range strikes during the same period.
The Ukrainian military, for its part, stated it struck a chemical plant in Krasnozavodsk, north of Moscow, early on Monday, which it claims manufactures “pyrotechnic devices and ammunition, including thermobaric warheads for Shahed-type” drones.
Meanwhile, Ukraine experienced another deadly night of attacks. Ukrainian authorities reported that at least 12 civilians were killed and over 90 injured in Russian attacks across the country in the 24 hours leading up to Monday mid-morning.
Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine was particularly hard hit, with at least 29 people, including three children, injured in early morning drone strikes on a residential building, kindergarten, and commercial area. Another 17 people were injured in subsequent drone strikes in the same city.
The Ukrainian Air Force stated Russia launched four surface-to-air missiles and 101 Shahed-type drones in the past 24 hours, with 75 drones downed or jammed.
The Land Forces of Ukraine also reported that two of its recruitment offices were hit by Russian drones on Monday, bringing the total to six such attacks in just over a week. They believe these attacks aim to disrupt the Ukrainian military’s enlistment process, with at least two fatalities and over a dozen injuries resulting from these specific attacks. Source
