Pro-Russian paramilitary leader killed in Moscow explosion

Armen Sargsyan, leader of the pro-Russian "Arbat" paramilitary battalion, has died in a Moscow hospital after being severely injured in an explosion at a residential building. The blast also wounded others, including his bodyguard, with reports suggesting another fatality.

Sargsyan, accused by Ukraine’s security service of recruiting prisoners to fight and linked to former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, had been wanted internationally since 2014. Russian investigators believe the attack was a targeted assassination.

The explosion follows a series of attacks on pro-Russian figures, including military officials, in both Moscow and occupied Ukrainian territories.