Ukraine Russia latest news: Russian transport minister found dead hours after being sacked by Putin

Before being appointed transport minister in May 2024, Starovoit had been governor of the Kursk region for nearly five years.

Three months after he became transport minister, Ukrainian troops crossed the border into Kursk in the biggest foreign incursion into Russian territory since World War Two and were only pushed out earlier this year after fierce fighting and widespread destruction.

In April this year, Starovoit’s successor as governor, Alexei Smirnov, was charged with embezzling money earmarked for defence purposes amid accusations that the funds earmarked for border defences had been stolen, leaving Kursk more vulnerable to Ukrainian attack.

Pressed earlier on Monday by reporters on whether his dismissal meant Putin had lost trust in Starovoit over Kursk, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said “a loss of trust is mentioned if there is a loss of trust”.

“There is no such wording in the (Kremlin) decree.”

Ukraine’s military said on Monday it had struck a chemical plant in Russia’s Moscow region that manufactures explosives, ammunition and thermobaric warheads for Shahed attack drones.

“A series of explosions were recorded in the area of the city of Krasnozavodsk and the movement of fire trucks in neighbouring settlements,” Kyiv’s General Staff said in a statement on the Telegram messaging site, adding that the final results of the strike were still being clarified.

This report has not been independently verified.

A Kremlin spokesperson has responded to accusations from US president Donald Trump that the BRICS bloc is “anti-American” as the countries attended a summit on Sunday.

The spokesman said Russia’s cooperation with the BRICS was based on a “common world view” and “will never be directed against third countries.”

It comes as Trump threatened BRICS participators with additional 10% tariffs. Trump’s threat on Sunday night came as the U.S. government prepared to finalize dozens of trade deals with a range of countries before his July 9 deadline for the imposition of significant “retaliatory tariffs.”

Putin could not attend the summit in person due to an arrest warrant in his name by the International Criminal Court.

Russian former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit has been found dead, Russia’s investigative committee said on Monday.

“Today, the body of the former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation, Roman Starovoit, was found with a gunshot wound in his personal car,” the statement issued by the committee says.

It comes hours after Putin fired Starovoit in an unexpected move as Russia’s transport sector faces challenges.

Russia’s aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country’s largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates – needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war – take their toll.

Putin’s decree gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Starovoit was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky discussed replacing the current ambassador to the US, Oksana Markarova, during his phone call with President Donald Trump on Friday, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The country’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal is on a list of potential candidates to become Kyiv’s envoy to Washington, alongside Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Olha Stefanishyna, Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Energy Minister German Galushchenko, the report said, citing an unnamed source.

Zelenskiy had said on Saturday that his conversation with Trump last week was the best and “most productive” he has had to date, adding that the two leaders had discussed “several other important matters.”

The report could not be independently verified.

Russian President Vladimir Putin fired his transport minister in an unexpected move that comes at a time of significant challenges for the transport sector as the war in Ukraine drags on for a fourth year.

Russia’s aviation sector is short of spare parts and Russian Railways, the country’s largest employer, is grappling with soaring interest costs as high rates – needed to curb higher inflation exacerbated by the war – take their toll.

Putin’s decree gave no reason for the dismissal of Roman Starovoit after barely a year in the job. Starovoit was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as governor of the Kursk region bordering Ukraine.

The Kremlin said Andrei Nikitin, a former governor of the Novgorod region, had been appointed acting transport minister and it published photographs of him shaking hands with Putin in the Kremlin.

Asked about Starovoit’s sudden departure and Nikitin’s swift appointment, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said: “At present, in the president’s opinion, Andrei Nikitin’s professional qualities and experience will best contribute to ensuring that this agency, which the president described as extremely important, fulfils its tasks and functions.”

Russia fired more than 100 drones at civilian areas of Ukraine overnight, authorities said Monday, as the Kremlin dismissed the country’s transport chief after a weekend of travel chaos when Russian airports grounded hundreds of flights due to the threat of Ukrainian drone attacks.

At least 10 civilians were killed and 38 injured, including three children, in Russian attacks over the previous 24 hours, Ukrainian officials said.