**Pro-Russian Separatist Armen Sarkisyan Killed in Moscow Explosion**

Armen Sarkisyan, founder of a separatist battalion in Ukraine, was killed in a bombing that injured several others in the Russian capital.

A bomb blast in a gated apartment complex in Moscow resulted in the death of Armen Sarkisyan, a leading pro-Russian separatist from Ukraine, according to reports from Russian media outlets. The incident, which occurred on Monday, has raised concerns regarding ongoing hostilities surrounding the Ukraine conflict, as it appears to target individuals opposing the government in Kyiv.

Sarkisyan, who was formerly the founder of a battalion fighting for Russian-backed forces in eastern Ukraine, succumbed to injuries at a nearby hospital following the explosion. Reports cited the Investigative Committee of Russia, typically in charge of serious criminal investigations, confirming the blast and stating that four others were hospitalized due to their injuries, with regional sources noting that Sarkisyan's bodyguard was declared dead at the scene.

While the motives behind this attack remain unclear, the blast adds to a troubling trend of violent incidents in Moscow. The previous month, a Russian general was killed in an elaborately orchestrated assassination involving a scooter bomb. Officials are yet to reveal how the explosive device was planted or detonated in the upscale residential area.

Ukrainian officials had not provided comments about the incident at the time of reporting. In 2014, Sarkisyan had been implicated by Ukrainian authorities for severe offenses, including orchestrating violence against anti-government demonstrations in the capital. Afterward, he pledged his allegiance to Russian actions in Ukraine and established a battalion that fought alongside Kremlin-backed soldiers.

Locally, Ivan Prikhodko, the mayor of Horlivka, a town under Russian control in eastern Ukraine, paid tribute to Sarkisyan on a social media platform, referring to the late leader's battalion as pivotal in maintaining security in the contested Donetsk region.

Images released by Russian news platforms displayed the entrance of the residential building severely damaged, with debris strewn about. Dmitri S. Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, mentioned that no official statements were announced regarding the explosion, but that an investigation had been launched to unveil more details.