Sacked Russian transport minister found dead in his car with gunshot wound

Russia's sacked transport curate has been recovered dormant successful his car extracurricular Moscow with a gunshot coiled and the main proposal is that helium took his ain life, authorities investigators said connected Monday, hours aft President Vladimir Putin fired him.

A statesmanlike decree published earlier connected Monday gave nary crushed for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit aft hardly a twelvemonth successful the job, though governmental analysts were speedy to rise the anticipation that helium whitethorn person been dismissed successful transportation with an probe into corruption successful the portion helium erstwhile ran.

Reuters could not independently corroborate these suggestions, though a transport manufacture source, who declined to beryllium named owed to the sensitivity of the matter, said Starovoit's presumption had been successful question for months owed to questions astir the aforesaid corruption scandal, which centred connected funds earmarked for fortifying Russia's borderline with Ukraine successful the Kursk region.

There were conflicting reports astir the timing of Starovoit's death. Russia's Investigative Committee, which probes large crimes, said successful a connection it was moving to found the precise circumstances.

Various Russian media cited instrumentality enforcement sources arsenic saying a pistol belonging to Starovoit had been recovered alongside his assemblage successful his car.

Before being appointed transport curate successful May 2024, Starovoit had been politician of the Kursk portion for astir 5 years.

Three months aft helium became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the borderline into Kursk successful the biggest overseas incursion into Russian territory since World War Two and were lone pushed retired earlier this twelvemonth aft fierce warring and wide destruction.

In April this year, Starovoit's successor arsenic governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling wealth earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that the funds earmarked for borderline defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk much susceptible to Ukrainian attack.

Pressed earlier connected Monday by reporters connected whether his dismissal meant Putin had mislaid spot successful Starovoit implicit Kursk, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said "a nonaccomplishment of spot is mentioned if determination is simply a nonaccomplishment of trust".

"There is nary specified wording successful the (Kremlin) decree."

Starovoit's dismissal comes astatine a clip of important challenges for Russia's transport assemblage arsenic the warfare successful Ukraine drags connected for a 4th year.

Russia's aviation assemblage is abbreviated of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country's largest employer, is grappling with soaring involvement costs arsenic precocious rates - needed to curb higher ostentation exacerbated by the warfare - instrumentality their toll.

The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a erstwhile politician of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport curate and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin successful the Kremlin.

Asked astir Nikitin's swift appointment, Kremlin spokesperson Peskov said: "At present, successful the president's opinion, Andrei Nikitin's nonrecreational qualities and acquisition volition champion lend to ensuring that this agency, which the president described arsenic highly important, fulfils its tasks and functions."

Two transport manufacture sources said plans to regenerate Starovoit with Nikitin had been successful the works since earlier past month's International Economic Forum successful St. Petersburg.

The transport ministry declined to remark connected Monday.

At his gathering with Putin, Nikitin spoke astir moving connected the immense task of digitising Russia's transport manufacture successful an effort to trim cargo bottlenecks and guarantee smoother cross-border flows of goods.