Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit committed suicide on Monday (7), a few hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin, fired him from office, authorities said.
Starovoit was fired by Putin on Monday morning. The decree announcing his resignation was published on the Russian government’s official website, with his deputy, Andrey Nikitin, appointed interim minister.
Asked by reporters about the reasons for the resignation of Starovoit, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied it for “lack of confidence,” but did not present any alternative justification.
The Russian Investigative Committee stated in a statement that Starovoit’s body was found in a car in Odintsovo, a suburb of Moscow.
He had a bullet injury, the committee said. The circumstances of his death are being investigated, but the “main theory is suicide.”
Before becoming minister in May 2024, Starovoit was governor of the Kursk region of southern Russia. Although he left office before Ukraine’s surprise foray, he was partially held responsible for safety failures in the Russian region.
The dismissal occurred amidst an interruption of several days on air trips in Russia.
The Russian federal agency of air transport reported that 485 flights were canceled, 88 were diverted and 1,900 suffered delays over the weekend and until Monday (7).
Also according to the agency, the cancellations are due to “external interference” without providing details. But the Russian Ministry of Defense stated that more than 400 long -range Ukrainian attacks were intercepted in the same period.
The Ukrainian army said it also attacked a chemical factory in Krasnozavodsk, north of Moscow, on Monday morning. The forces claimed that the site manufactures “pyrotechnic devices and ammunition, including bargaining wishes for Shahed -type drones.”
Another deadly night in Ukraine
At least 24 hours until mid-morning (7), according to Ukrainian authorities.
At least 29 people, including three children aged 3, 7 and 11, were injured when Russian drones reached a residential building, a kindergarten and a commercial area at 6am, local time, this Monday (00h, Brasília time), in Kharkiv, in the northeast of Ukraine.
At least 17 more people, including a teenager, were injured when the same city was again hit by drones just five hours later, according to Kharkiv Mayor Ihor Terekhov.
The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Moscow has fired four Terra-AR missiles and 101 Shahed-type drones against Ukraine in the last 24 hours, adding that he has slaughtered 75 disoposotives, either by slaughter or interference.
Ukraine’s land forces reported on Monday that two of their recruitment offices were hit by Russian drones, the latest in a series of similar incidents.
Six recruitment offices across the country have been attacked by Russian drones in just over a week, land forces reported in a statement, adding that they believe Russia is attacking the offices in an attempt to stop the Ukrainian military enlistment process.
At least two people died and more than a dozen were injured in these attacks, according to the statement.
