Former Russian minister dies hours after being sacked by Putin
Story from Yahaya Goni
Russian’s transport minister was found dead Monday, hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what officials called an apparent suicide.
Roman Starovoyt, who served as Russia’s transport minister since May 2024, was fired in a presidential decree earlier in the day.
Hours later, the body of Starovoyt, 53, was found in his car with a gunshot wound, according to Russia’s Investigative Committee, the top criminal investigation agency.
READ ALSO: Russian-Ukraine War: Putin orders barricade of industrial area
A criminal probe has been launched into Starovoyt’s death and investigators see suicide as the most likely cause, according to committee’s spokesperson Svetlana Petrenko.
Russian media have reported that Starovoyt’s dismissal could have been linked to an investigation into the embezzlement of state funds allocated for building fortifications in the Kursk region where he served as governor before being appointed transportation minister.
The alleged embezzlement has been named as one of the reasons behind deficiencies in Russia’s defensive lines that failed to stem a Ukrainian incursion in the region that was launched in August 2024.
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