Russian transport minister fired by Putin ‘dies by suicide’

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Russia’s Investigative Committee said on Monday that the country’s transport minister Roman Starovoyt, 53, had died from a suspected suicide, on the same day that he was fired by President Vladimir Putin.

Several Telegram channels with close ties to the security services reported that Starovoyt, a former head of the Ukraine-bordering Kursk region, shot himself in his Tesla Model X, in a town west of Moscow.

Starovoyt’s death came amid a corruption probe into the construction of defensive fortifications in Kursk, which he governed until May 2024.

It marks the first suicide of a senior Russian official in years, and the first to come amid scrutiny over decisions made during the war in Ukraine.

Initial reports of Starovoyt’s suicide came just hours after Putin formally dismissed him from his ministerial post on Monday morning, though it was unclear whether he died before or after the decree was signed.

A criminal case has been opened over alleged embezzlement linked to the construction of defensive fortifications in the Kursk region, parts of which were under partial Ukrainian control for six months until March 2025.

Starovoyt’s successor as governor of the Kursk region, along with his deputy, have been arrested as part of the investigation and accused of embezzling at least Rbs1bn (more than $12mn) in state funds allocated for the construction.

Several Russian media outlets and Telegram channels reported that Starovoyt was under investigation for possible involvement in the case.

Starovoyt’s death also comes as Ukrainian drone attacks have caused chaos at Russia’s main airports, including those in Moscow and St Petersburg.

Nearly 500 flights have been cancelled and almost 2,000 delayed since Saturday, according to Rosaviatsia, Russia’s aviation authority.

Such disruptions have become increasingly frequent in recent months, with some airports forced to shut down dozens of times since early spring.

This is a developing story