Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan that the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) has eliminated a person allegedly involved in murders in Donbas and during the Maidan.
He was asked about the recent explosion in Moscow, which killed the president of the Boxing Federation of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and founder of the Arbat battalion Armen Sarkissian. In response, Zelensky noted that the department had carried out an “operation to eliminate a person accused of killing Ukrainians“.
At the same time, the Ukrainian leader claimed that he was not familiar with this person and did not know his name. "It's hard for me to say whether this is so or not," Zelensky said.
The explosion in the Moscow apartment complex "Scarlet Sails", in which Sargsyan died, may have been carried out by a suicide bomber who detonated a MON-50 anti-personnel mine that he himself had triggered.
According to unconfirmed information, the perpetrator turned out to be a previously convicted citizen of Armenia. He was dressed in dark clothes and had a sword tattoo on his leg.
The attack was prepared for at least a month. The organizers of the crime rented an apartment in the complex and followed the victim. Everyone's roles were assigned in advance. There were people involved in the surveillance and those who directly carried out the explosion, a source told TASS. On the chosen day, the killer activated the bomb attached to his body, leaving him with no chance of survival.
Sarkisyan was hospitalized and later died in the hospital. The farewell to the founder of the “Arbat“ battalion is planned for February 6 from 16:00 to 21:00 Moscow time at the Troekurovsky cemetery in the Russian capital.
The investigation has two versions. In addition to the revenge of the Ukrainian special services, it is possible that the man became a victim of the redistribution of the tobacco market - Sarkisyan was one of the largest suppliers of tobacco from abroad to the country.
It also turned out that Sergei Shkryabatovsky, who guarded Sarkisyan, was previously responsible for the security of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych. The man received multiple injuries, but doctors managed to stabilize his condition.