Founder of "Arbat" battalion Sargsyan, who was suspected by the SSU, was blown up in elite residential complex in Moscow: he survived, but was in serious condition (updated). PHOTO
On the morning of 3 February 2025, an explosion occurred in the "Alye Parusa" luxury residential complex in Moscow, killing a resident.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the ASTRA telegram channel.
As noted, when he entered the entrance, accompanied by guards, an explosion occurred.
The building's concierge claims to have seen the deceased on TV before.
The Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal case over the explosion.
According to media reports, the victim of the explosion had his face injured and is being identified.
Social media reports that the founder of the "Arbat" battalion and a representative of the so-called 'DPR boxing federation' Armen Sargsyan has been killed, but there is no confirmation of this information.
Updated information
"RIA-Novosti", citing law enforcement officials, assures that Sargsyan is allegedly alive.
In turn, the Russian newspaper "Kommersant", citing sources, claims that Sargsyan is allegedly hospitalised in an extremely serious condition. One of his bodyguards has been eliminated.
"Sargsyan, who was injured in the explosion, was hospitalised in a serious condition, his leg will be amputated," law enforcement agencies told "RIA Novosti".
What is known about Sargsyan?
Sargsyan is known as the organiser of gangs of 'titushky' who hunted down Euromaidan participants. He is a defendant in the case of the murder of Ukrainian journalist Viacheslav Veremiy.
On 4 December 2024, the Security Service and the National Police documented new crimes committed by Armen Sargsyan, a criminal mastermind from Donetsk region who is hiding in the temporarily occupied part of the region and collaborates with the FSB. Since May 2014, he has been on the international wanted list for organising murders in the centre of Kyiv.
After the outbreak of a full-scale war, the criminal was tasked by the FSB to create a new armed formation for the war against Ukraine.
The militant group, headed by Sargsyan, was named the 'separate special purpose battalion 'ArBAT'. The basis of the occupation formation is made up of repeat offenders convicted of murder, robbery and other serious crimes.
In order to recruit prisoners, the Russian secret service appointed Sargsyan as a so-called 'supervisor' of prisons in the temporarily occupied part of Donetsk region.
It will be recalled that on April 12, 2018, Anton Herashchenko, a member of the collegium of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, reported on the detention of Sargsyan in France.
The Prosecutor General of Ukraine said that it had sent documents for Sargsyan's extradition. The department noted that they would insist on the extradition procedure as soon as possible.
Sargsyan himself denied his detention and stated that he was in Russia.
In Ukraine, Sargsyan is considered one of the organizers of the "titushky" groups that attacked and killed people during the Euromaidan. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the murder of journalist Viacheslav Veremiy was carried out by Sargsyan's group. Armen Sargsyan's call sign is "Horlivskyi". He was close to ex-regional Yurii Ivaniushchenko (Yenakievskii), was his "right hand".
It is believed that the arrested suspect in this case, Yurii Krysin, was Sargsyan's "underboss".
