Ukraine Confirms Russian Military Officer Killed in Balashikha Car Explosion

A Russian military officer killed in a car explosion in Balashikha on Tuesday was Damir Davydov, an officer in the supply department of the Main Missile and Artillery Directorate of the Russian army.

A senior Ukrainian official confirmed his identity to The New York Times on condition of anonymity.

The newspaper’s source did not provide further details about the killing.

Davydov’s name had previously been reported by pro-Russian blogger Anatoly Shariy, the Telegram channel VChK-OGPU and the Ukrainian outlet INSIDER UA.

According to leaked data reviewed by Agentstvo, Davydov lived near the site of the explosion.

The Insider reported that the operation to kill Davydov was carried out by Ukraine’s Security Service, the SBU, but did not specify its source.

Russian authorities have still not named the man killed in the blast. According to Agentstvo, this is the first such case since the beginning of the war.

On Wednesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the incident.

“The details, as you understand, cannot be made public because of the ongoing investigation. Of course, this is a matter for our special services,” Peskov said.

The explosion took place on Tuesday morning in a district of Balashikha where military personnel live. In April 2025, just 350 meters from the scene, a car belonging to Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy head of the Russian General Staff, was also blown up.

On the same day as the Balashikha explosion, another car was detonated in Moscow near the Technopark of the M. F. Stelmakh Polyus Research Institute, a structure linked to Rostec.

Russia’s Investigative Committee said the blast prevented an attempt to kill an employee of “one of the scientific and production enterprises.”