Notorious ‘crime boss’ killed in bomb blast at luxury hotel

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A professional-Russian paramilitary leader and his bodyguard have been killed in an explosion at their hotel in Moscow in what’s purported to be a direct assassination by Ukraine.

Armen Sarkisyan, founding father of the ArBat Battalion fighting against Ukraine’s army in Donetsk, died from a chest wound brought on by a shrapnel while in hospital.

A bomb detonated just as Sarkisyan, accompanied by his security, entered the basement of the ‘Scarlet Sails’ complex on the banks of the Moskva River, just seven miles from the Kremlin, in accordance with Russian media.

At the least one in every of Sarkisyan’s bodyguards also died and three others were injured.

A lot of the entrance of the constructing was gutted by the explosion (Picture: Reuters)

Ambulances at the site — At the least three people were also injured through the attack (Picture: Reuters)

Footage shows the doorway full of smoke within the immediate aftermath of the blast and extensive damage to the inside of the constructing.

Shattered glass and debris are seen scattered across the floor and outdoors of the complex.

One other video circulating on Telegram shows an injured man laying on the bottom.

Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, reported that the attack was ‘ordered and punctiliously planned,’ but didn’t specify who was suspected to have been behind it.

Inside of the hotel after the explosion — The inside the ‘Scarlet Sails’ complex on the banks of the Moskva River (Picture: IC Moscow/e2w)

The entrance filled with smoke — Sarkisyan was taken to hospital but died there from his wounds Picture: IC Moscow/e2w)

‘The aim of the explosion within the Scarlet Sails residential complex was an attempted murder. Who organised it’s being established,’ a source told Tass.

Sarkisyan is the president of the so-called ‘DPR’ boxing federation, also often called the creator of the ‘Armenian Battalion’ (ArBat).

This unit is subordinate to the Kremlin-controlled mercenary unit ‘Redut’ and took part within the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

In Ukraine, he can also be suspected of organising gangs – often called ‘titushky’ – that attacked people participating within the anti-government demonstrations on the Maidan in 2014.

Russia: First attempted assassination by Ukraine inside Moscow on Trump?s watch — Sarkisyan (right) with Chechen leaders (Picture: Telegram)

Sarkisyan can also be rumoured to have been a part of Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych’s inner circle.

He can also be believed to have had tight-knit relations with Chechen security forces.

In December, based on materials from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, the crime boss was charged in absentia for recruiting prisoners to fight against Ukraine.

Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet, reported that Armenian-born Sarkisyan had been a long-time organised crime figure within the Donetsk region city of Horlivka.

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