Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit is dead, apparently by suicide, just hours after Vladimir Putin kicked him out of office. The Kremlin released the official decree Monday morning, announcing Starovoit’s sudden dismissal and naming his deputy, Andrey Nikitin, as the acting minister.
When reporters pressed for details, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov brushed off rumours that Starovoit had lost Putin’s trust but didn’t bother offering any other explanation. Classic Kremlin stonewalling.
BREAKING: Russia’s former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead in an apparent suicide, just hours after being fired by Putin. pic.twitter.com/NstX00Z1Zu
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) July 7, 2025
Why Was Roman Starovoit Fired By Putin?
A few hours later, investigators found Starovoit’s body inside a car in Odintsovo, just outside Moscow. He’d been shot, and while officials say they’re still investigating, suicide is their main theory right now.
Starovoit only became transport minister in May 2024. Before that, he’d been the governor of Russia’s Kursk region, where he caught flak for security lapses, even though he left before Ukraine’s surprise raids. Still, Russian media was already swirling with reports that he was under investigation for allegedly skimming state funds meant for building defensive fortifications. Vesti, RBC, and Kommersant all said he was being investigated, with Kommersant going so far as to claim he was about to be arrested.
His predecessor in Kursk, Alexei Smirnov—who was also his former deputy—was arrested back in April in the same corruption probe. Moscow courts confirmed that one.
All this drama unfolded as Russia’s air travel was thrown into chaos. The Federal Agency for Air Transport reported 485 canceled flights, 88 diversions, and nearly 2,000 delays over the weekend and into Monday. Officials blamed “external interference” without getting specific, but the Defense Ministry claimed over 400 Ukrainian drone and missile strikes were intercepted during that stretch.
⚠️ Footage of the scene where former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit was found dead in a Tesla Model X.
The last message Roman Starovoit sent was to his security team, informing them where and when to pick him up.
Upon arriving at the location, the security… https://t.co/IRig9aNsVQ pic.twitter.com/qJSSgX5u0p
— Vanguard Intel Group 🛡 (@vanguardintel) July 7, 2025
What is happening in Ukraine?
Meanwhile, Ukraine said it managed to hit a chemical plant in Krasnozavodsk, north of Moscow, early Monday. According to Ukrainian officials, the facility makes pyrotechnics and ammunition, including thermobaric warheads for those Shahed-type drones.
And as if that wasn’t enough, Ukrainian authorities said at least 12 civilians were killed and over 90 injured in Russian strikes across Ukraine in the previous 24 hours.
In Kharkiv, Russian drones hammered a residential building, a kindergarten, and a commercial area at 6 a.m. local time, injuring at least 29 people, including three kids—aged 3, 7, and 11. Just another brutal night in this endless war.
