Armen Sarkissian, also known as Armen Gorlovsky, was seriously injured as a result of an explosion in the elite residential complex "Aleniy Paltna" in the northwestern part of Moscow, law enforcement agencies told Interfax.
According to a source at RBC, a radio-controlled explosive device exploded in the lobby of the building. “It is obvious that the explosion was prepared in advance; the interlocutor said.
The Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case, and the Moscow prosecutor's office has taken control of the investigation.
"Sarkissian has been hospitalized. His condition is assessed as extremely serious," the agency's source said.
Sarkisyan heads the Boxing Federation of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and is the founder of one of the volunteer battalions in the combat zone in the conflict with Ukraine - "Arbat".
A security guard of Sarkisyan was killed in the explosion, and three more were injured - security guards and a doorman.
The Moscow prosecutor's office told journalists that the agency "is monitoring the establishment of the circumstances surrounding the incident in the residential complex on Aviatsionnaya Street".
The prosecutor of the North-West Administrative District, Maxim Kiselev, arrived at the scene of the incident. “The investigation of the criminal case initiated on this fact is under the control of the prosecutor's office“, the department stated, without specifying under which article the case was initiated.
The Moscow Main Investigation Department (GSU) of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation (SKR) announced that a criminal case has been initiated in connection with the incident, without specifying the classification of the event.
“Investigators and forensic experts from the Moscow Investigative Committee, together with operational services, are inspecting the scene of the incident. Investigative actions and operational-search activities are being conducted, aimed at establishing all the circumstances surrounding the incident“, a published statement said. on the GSU Telegram channel.
According to a source at RBC, the explosion was an attempted contract killing.
Sarkisyan said that as a child he moved from Armenia to Ukraine, to Gorlovka (a city located north of Donetsk, which in 2014 fell under the control of the DPR. Russia incorporated the region into its territory in the fall of 2022), where he lived “all his conscious life“.
In 2022, he created the Arbat battalion, or Armenian battalion, which is part of the international Pyatnashka brigade. “The Armenian battalion existed before, in the form of a detachment. But we ourselves understood that it did not need to remain isolated. “The Armenian battalion must sound loud“, said the brigade commander, Akhra Avidzba. In the summer of 2023 “Arbat“ signed a contract with the Russian Ministry of Defense, and its commander was Hayk Gasparyan, who previously served in the PMC “Wagner“.
In September 2024, the Investigative Committee of Armenia stated that citizens of the country were recruited into the unit in order to prepare for the seizure of power in the republic.
"Arbat“ called the accusations propaganda directed against Russia.