In a disturbing turn of events, Russia's recently dismissed Transport Minister, Roman Starovoit, was found dead from an apparent suicide just hours after President Vladimir Putin relieved him of his duties.
The 51-year-old's body was discovered on Monday, July 7, in a vehicle parked in Odintsovo, a suburb of Moscow, with a gunshot wound. While initial investigations point to suicide, Russian authorities say the exact circumstances surrounding his death remain under thorough review.
Earlier that same day, President Putin had signed an official decree removing Starovoit from office. His deputy, Andrey Nikitin, was immediately appointed as acting minister. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denied the dismissal stemmed from a “lack of trust,” but refrained from providing further clarification.
Before assuming the role of transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit served as the governor of Kursk region, where he had reportedly come under scrutiny over allegations of mismanagement and possible embezzlement of state funds earmarked for regional fortifications. Russian media suggested Starovoit may have been facing imminent arrest, especially after his predecessor, Alexei Smirnov, was detained in April over similar allegations.
His sudden death comes at a time of growing turbulence in Russia’s transport sector. Between the weekend and Monday, over 485 flights were canceled, nearly 1,900 delayed, and 88 diverted. The Federal Agency for Air Transport cited “external interference,” while Russia’s Defense Ministry confirmed intercepting over 400 Ukrainian long-range strikes during the same period.
Meanwhile, inside Ukraine, Russian attacks reportedly killed at least 12 civilians and injured over 90 others in just 24 hours. In Kharkiv, drone strikes hit a residential building, a kindergarten, and commercial areas. Ukraine’s air force responded by intercepting 75 of the 101 Iranian-made Shahed drones launched by Russia.
Ukrainian authorities also revealed that two more military recruitment centers were targeted by Russian drones, bringing the weekly total to six attacks on such facilities. These drone strikes, believed to be aimed at crippling Ukraine’s enlistment capacity, have killed at least two and injured more than a dozen civilians.
As Russia reels from a minister's mysterious death, regional tensions continue to escalate, drawing global attention to the ongoing war and its ripple effects inside Russian governance.
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