Russian ex-minister found dead hours after being sacked by Putin
The Kremlin did not give a reason for the firing of Roman Starovoit, who had served as transport minister since May 2024, and it was unclear when exactly he died.
Russia's Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency, said the body of Starovoit, 53, was found with a gunshot wound in his car parked in Odintsovo, a neighbourhood just west of Moscow where many members of Russia's elite live.
A gun previously presented to him as an official gift was reportedly found next to his body.
A criminal probe was launched into the death, and investigators said they saw suicide as the most likely cause, according to the committee's spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko, who did not say when Starovoit died.
Law enforcement agents were seen carrying Starovoit's body from the site Monday evening. The Kremlin only confirmed Roman Starovoit's sacking hours before he was found dead. / Credit: AP
Andrei Kartapolov, a former deputy defence minister who heads a defence committee in the lower house of parliament, told news outlet RTVI that Starovoit killed himself 'quite a while ago,' and some Russian media alleged that he may have taken his life before the publication of Putin's decree firing him.
Starovoit was last seen in public on Sunday morning when an official video from the ministry's situation room featured him receiving reports from officials.
Russian media have reported that Starovoit's dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region, where he served as governor before becoming transportation minister.
The alleged embezzlement has been cited as one of the reasons for deficiencies in Russia's defensive lines that failed to stem a surprise Ukrainian incursion in the region launched in August 2024.
In the stunning attack, Ukraine's battle-hardened mechanised units quickly overwhelmed lightly armed Russian border guards and inexperienced army conscripts. Hundreds were taken prisoner.
The incursion was a blow to the Kremlin, marking the first time the country's territory was occupied by an invader since the Second World War.
The Russian military has said it has reclaimed all the territory, but Ukraine says it is still active in the region.
Starovoit's successor as Kursk governor, Alexei Smirnov, stepped down in December and was arrested on embezzlement charges in April.
Some Russian media have alleged that Starovoit also could have faced charges as part of the investigation.
Starovoit's dismissal also followed a weekend of travel chaos as Russian airports were forced to ground hundreds of flights due to Ukrainian drone attacks.
Most commentators said that the air traffic disruptions have become customary amid frequent Ukrainian drone raids and were unlikely to have triggered his dismissal.
Shortly after Putin's decree on Starovoit was published, Andrei Korneichuk, an official with a state railways agency under his ministry, collapsed and died during a business meeting, Russian news reports said.
They said he died of an apparent heart attack.
An official order releasing Starovoit from his post was published on the Kremlin's website Monday morning without giving a reason for his dismissal.
Shortly before the news of Starovoit's death broke, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov praised Starovoit's replacement, Andrei Nikitin, and refused to comment on the reasons behind the move.
Russian authorities have investigated a slew of cases of high-level corruption that were widely blamed for military setbacks in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin did not give a reason for the firing of Roman Starovoit. / Credit: AP
On Monday, Khalil Arslanov, a former deputy chief of the military's General Staff, was convicted on corruption charges and sentenced to 17 years in prison.
Arslanov is a former member of the military brass close to former Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
Several of them were targeted in a far-ranging probe into alleged military graft.
Last week, Shoigu's former deputy, Timur Ivanov, was convicted on charges of embezzlement and money laundering and handed a 13-year prison sentence.
Shoigu, a veteran official with personal ties to Putin, survived the purges of his inner circle and was given the high-profile post of secretary of Russia's Security Council.
In another move on Monday, the Investigative Committee announced the arrest of Viktor Strigunov, the former first deputy chief of the National Guard.
It said Strigunov was charged with corruption and abuse of office.
Get all the latest news from around the country Follow STV News
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Trump says Zelensky should NOT target Moscow after ‘asking Ukraine leader if he can make Putin feel the pain of war'
DONALD Trump has urged Volodymyr Zelensky not to target Moscow with US-manufactured missiles - just days after he reportedly Kyiv if Russia's capital was in reach. A bombshell report claimed that Trump asked the Ukrainian leader if he can "make them [Russia] feel the pain" when the pair held a phone call at the start of the month. Advertisement 8 Donald Trump has urged Volodymyr Zelensky not to target Moscow with US long-range missiles Credit: Alamy 8 A bombshell report a few days ago claimed that Trump asked the Ukrainian leader if he can 'make them [Russia] feel the pain' Credit: Getty 8 Trump responded to the report by saying: 'I want to stop the killing of thousands of people a week' - pictured: Russia's attack on Lviv last week Credit: Reuters The US President asked: "Volodymyr, can you hit Moscow? Can you hit St Petersburg too?", according to the Financial Times, citing two sources. Zelensky responded: "Absolutely. We can if you give us the weapons." It comes as Trump pledged to send "top of the line weapons" used by the US over to Nato so they can deploy them in Kyiv. These are believed to include cruise missiles which could be able to reach Moscow and all the major Russian cities depending on what is sent. Advertisement But Trump has now pushed back on the reports of him enquiring about Ukraine's next targets. He told reporters that he has actually warned Zelensky to not even think about attacking Moscow if he ever wants the conflict to end. Trump did not directly mention the FT report but the White House did earlier today. Press secretary Karoline Leavitt argued Trump's words were taken out of context as the President "was merely asking a question, not encouraging further killing". Advertisement She continued, in a statement to the BBC: "He's working tirelessly to stop the killing and end this war." Trump was also asked if he has now turned against Putin entirely and sided with Ukraine. Putin defies Trump's ultimatum and BOMBARDS Ukraine – as Kremlin mouthpiece warns Russia will 'turn Kyiv into Hiroshima' In recent days, the President has blasted Putin for his recent daily bombardments and urged Vlad to negotiate with Ukraine or face serious repercussions. As he left the White House today however, he simply said: "I'm on nobody's side. Advertisement "I want to stop the killing of thousands of people a week." The clearest sign yet that Trump is done playing diplomatic games with Putin came on Monday, He issued a blistering crackdown on Moscow as he made a pledge to hit Russia with 100 percent tariffs if Putin doesn't agree to a peace deal within 50 days. Trump made the comments as he also agreed to supply weapons to help Kyiv in the war in the hopes of driving Putin to the negotiating table. Advertisement He vowed to send weapons compromising of "everything" in his arsenal in order to get Putin back into line after weeks of the tyrant incessantly bombing Ukraine. One of the proposed weapons which could be included in the package deal is America's joint air-to-surface standoff cruise missiles (JASSM). 8 Trump with his press secretary Karoline Leavitt who argued Trump's words were taken out of context Credit: Shutterstock Editorial 8 Firefighters working on a fire at a site of a strike following a mass Russian drone and missile attack on Kyiv Credit: AFP Advertisement 8 It comes as Trump pledged to send "top of the line weapons" used by the US over to Nato so they can deploy them in Kyiv Credit: Reuters Surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries are also said to be among the equipment being manufactured. A furious Trump added he is 'very unhappy' with Russia. The President has spent the first seven months of his White House return urging both sides to come to the negotiating table. Advertisement But a snarling Putin has always declined and instead ramped up his ground and aerial offensives across Ukraine. And the Kremlin's reaction to Trump's latest posture was again icy. They mocked the deadline with sources saying they may now demand even more Ukrainian territory instead of laying down arms. Russia will instead keep terrorising Ukrainian civilians during the seven-week period instead of surrendering in any form, they added. Advertisement Within hours of Trump's tariff threat, Russia launched a fresh blitz across Ukraine, striking sites in Kharkiv, Sumy and Zaporizhzhia. Drones targeted a university in Sumy, wounding a 14-year-old girl and a 19-year-old student, while a missile hit a medical facility in Shostka. In response, Ukraine launched its own drone blitz across southwest Russia, injuring civilians and damaging homes and industrial sites in Voronezh and Lipetsk. What have experts said of Trump's sending long-range weapons to Ukraine? by Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter DONALD Trump sending long-range weapons to Ukraine could be a game-changer for the war by helping halt Vladimir Putin's nightly blitzes, experts said. Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a decorated British Army commander, said the shipment of these long-range missiles would have profound "psychological and physical effects" on Ukraine. Mr de Bretton-Gordon told The Sun: "These weapons can strike Moscow - over 400 miles from the border. That allows the Ukrainians to strike drone factory production and ammunition sites, and others. "So this will have both psychological as well as physical effects. "People in Moscow will realise that they potentially could be targeted. "And when you also add to it the American bombings on Iranian sites that were supposed to be impregnable, it shows that American missile and drone technology rather superior to the Russian air defence system." The former army chief said these weapons will put real pressure on Russia, adding: "The metric has now changed and Trump's decision could make a huge difference." Ex-military intelligence officer Colonel Philip Ingram told The Sun how these long-range weapons could help strike Russian missile and drone launchpads - the ones that are used to launch nightly attacks on Ukraine. He said: "The Ukrainians are already attacking to hit Russian military logistics, defence industry bases. "And with these sophisticated weapons, they will have increased capability of doing so. "It will impact the ability of the Russians to prosecute these increasingly large drone and rocket attacks on a nightly basis. "And then that's the best way for the Ukrainians to stop it." 8 Russian attacks have continued to prove deadly in recent weeks with Donald Trump finally saying he has had enough - pictured Shostka Credit: Getty Advertisement
Glasgow Times
2 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Israeli strikes in Gaza kill 93 Palestinians, health officials say
One strike in the northern Shati refugee camp killed a 68-year-old Hamas member of the Palestinian legislature, as well as a man and a woman and their six children who were sheltering in the same building, according to officials from Shifa Hospital, where the casualties were taken. One of the deadliest strikes hit a house in Gaza City's Tel al-Hawa district on Monday evening and killed 19 members of the family living inside, according to Shifa Hospital. The dead included eight women and six children. Smoke from an explosion rises in the northern Gaza Strip (Ohad Zwigenberg/AP) A strike on a tent housing displaced people in the same district killed a man, a woman and their two children. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the strikes. Gaza's Health Ministry said in a daily report on Tuesday afternoon that the bodies of 93 people killed by Israeli strikes had been brought to hospitals in Gaza over the past 24 hours, along with 278 wounded. It did not specify the total number of women and children among the dead. The Hamas politician killed in a strike early on Tuesday, Mohammed Faraj al-Ghoul, was a member of the bloc of representatives from the group that won seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council in the last election held among Palestinians in 2006. A convoy of Israeli military vehicles leaves the Gaza Strip near the Israel-Gaza border (Maya Alleruzzo/AP) Hamas won a majority in the vote, but relations with the main Fatah faction that had long led the Palestinian Authority unravelled and ended with Hamas taking over the Gaza Strip in 2007. The legislative council has not formally convened since. The Israeli military says it only targets militants and tries to avoid harming civilians. It blames civilian deaths on Hamas because the militants operate in densely populated areas. But daily, it hits homes and shelters where people are living without warning or explanation of the target. The latest attacks came after US President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held two days of talks last week that ended with no sign of a breakthrough in negotiations over a ceasefire and hostage release. Israel has killed more than 58,400 Palestinians and wounded more than 139,000 others in its retaliation campaign since Hamas's attack on October 7 2023, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Just over half the dead are women and children, according to the ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and militants in its tally. Palestinians inspect the wreckage of a gas station destroyed in an Israeli airstrike in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip (Abdel Kareem Hana/AP) The ministry, part of the Hamas-run government, is led by medical professionals. Its count, based on daily reports from hospitals, is considered by the United Nations and other experts to be the most reliable. Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas after its attack 20 months ago, in which militants stormed into southern Israel and killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians. They abducted 251 others, and the militants are still holding 50 hostages, fewer than half of them are believed to be alive. Israel's air and ground campaign has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and driven some 90% of the population from their homes. Aid groups say they have struggled to bring in food and other assistance because of Israeli military restrictions and the breakdown of law and order, and experts have warned of famine.
Metro
3 hours ago
- Metro
Trump warns Zelensky not to fire missiles on Moscow
US President Donald Trump said he told his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky not to strike Moscow, after giving Russia a 50-day deadline to stop the war. Trump was asked outside the White House on Tuesday if Zelensky should fire missiles at the Russian capital. 'No, he shouldn't target Moscow,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn. His remark comes after a Financial Times report claimed that Trump privately asked Zelensky if he could use long-range missiles supplied by the US on Moscow and escalate attacks. Trump insisted that he is 'on nobody's side' but on 'humanity's side' and that he wants to 'stop the killing'. Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@ For more stories like this, check our news page.
