Richard Arnold
On the morning of February 3, an explosion ripped through the northwest Moscow “Scarlet Sails” 29-story apartment complex, killing one person and injuring another four (RIA Novosti, February 3). The target of the attack was most likely paramilitary leader Armen Sarkisian, who was also killed in the explosion. According to the Telegram news publication Shot, Sarkisian was taken to the intensive care unit of the Botkin hospital after the attack and died without regaining consciousness after shrapnel penetrated his heart (Rambler.ru, February 3). Following the explosion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in an interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, did not deny that the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) was involved when asked about the attack. He stated, “I know the [SBU] eliminated one person that stands behind killings of Ukrainians in the East of our state during the times of the Revolution of Dignity” (YouTube/@PiersMorganUncensored, February 4; Kyiv Post; Interfax-Ukraine, February 5). One of the risks for Russian President Vladimir Putin in launching the full-scale invasion was that the effects would rebound and cause problems within Russia, which appears to be the Ukrainian playbook (see EDM, April 25, 2024). The “Scarlet Sails” apartment complex was a symbolic target, as it is located in the same part of the city where the former pro-Kremlin Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych resides.
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