Senior Russian general in charge of munitions supply killed by car bomb near Moscow

The attack

A senior Russian military officer was killed on Tuesday, 9 June, when an explosive device detonated under his vehicle in the Moscow suburb of Balashikha. The blast occurred at approximately 5:30 a.m. local time as the car, a BMW X3, was moving near an apartment block in the Aviatorov district, a residential area originally built for Russian military personnel and their families. The Russian Investigative Committee confirmed the detonation of an explosive device and opened a criminal case, but did not officially name the victim.

Independent Russian outlet The Insider identified the deceased as Lieutenant General Damir Davidov, 57, head of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate (GRAU) within the Russian Defence Ministry. The directorate is responsible for supplying the army with missile and artillery munitions. The device, placed under the driver's seat, had an estimated power equivalent to 300–400 grams of TNT, according to the Russian Telegram channel 112. Witnesses reportedly rushed to the burning vehicle to assist the driver, but the Investigative Committee stated the victim died at the scene.

The target

Davidov was born on 4 February 1969 in the closed city of Penza-19 (now Zarechny), a settlement tied to the defence industry. His father worked at the Start association, which produced nuclear missiles until 2002. Davidov received specialised military-technical education and held several patents in the field of rocket engines and artillery munitions, The Insider noted. By 2009, he was appointed head of the Central Technical Testing Bureau at Arsenal 51 in the Vladimir region. In 2017, he rose to a leadership position within the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate, ultimately becoming its chief.

He had purchased the BMW X3 in 2024 from a businessman in the Vladimir region, according to Telegram channels affiliated with Russian security structures. Some initial reports had speculated the target might be Colonel General Alexander Maksimtsev, a senior officer in the Russian Aerospace Forces, but that version was not confirmed.

Additional incidents

Tuesday saw two further car-bomb-related incidents in Moscow and the surrounding region. In the Konkovo district in southwestern Moscow, a Zeekr electric vehicle exploded in a parking lot. After witnesses extinguished the fire, authorities discovered a suspicious object under the car that had reportedly been detonated remotely. Later, around 6:00 p.m. local time, the Nebo shopping centre in western Moscow was evacuated after a suspicious object was found under a parked vehicle. Russian media reported that a second car bomb was discovered and detonated by authorities in southwestern Moscow.

Context and investigation

The FSB, Russia's internal security service, had previously stated that security measures around high-ranking military officers had been strengthened. The attack on Davidov is at least the fourth case of an officer with the rank of lieutenant general killed on Russian territory since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. A nearly identical explosion killed Yaroslav Moskalik in the same area over a year ago. As of now, there is no public information indicating Ukrainian involvement, and authorities in Kyiv have not commented. The investigation is proceeding under the coordination of Russian security structures, including the FSB.

The neighbourhood

The Aviatorov district in Balashikha, roughly 10 kilometres east of Moscow, is a residential zone developed for Defence Ministry personnel. Apartments there are allocated through the ministry to military pensioners, war veterans, and families of active-duty service members. The area's concentration of military-linked residents has made it a recurring setting for targeted attacks on Russian officers.