Former Russian transport minister Roman Starovoit died from a gunshot wound to the head. Russian investigators believe he killed himself after President Putin fired him from his job. Putin gave no reasons for kicking Starovoit out of the government. Deputy transport minister Andrei Nikitin stepped into the role right after the dismissal announcement. Officials are still trying to figure out exactly what happened.
Starovoit had worked as transport minister since May 2024. Before that job he ran the Kursk region for almost six years until last spring. Ukrainian soldiers shocked everyone when they invaded part of Kursk in August and held territory there for months. Russian forces recently pushed most of the Ukrainian troops back across the border. Some Ukrainian units might still control small pieces of Russian land.
The man who replaced Starovoit as Kursk governor got arrested in April for stealing money. Aleksey Smirnov allegedly took cash meant for building border defenses against Ukraine. Russian newspapers report that Starovoit was about to face charges in the same theft case. Defense committee chairman Andrei Kartapolov told reporters that Starovoit actually died much earlier than Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dodged questions about whether Putin had lost faith in Starovoit over the Kursk invasion problems.
Starovoit had worked as transport minister since May 2024. Before that job he ran the Kursk region for almost six years until last spring. Ukrainian soldiers shocked everyone when they invaded part of Kursk in August and held territory there for months. Russian forces recently pushed most of the Ukrainian troops back across the border. Some Ukrainian units might still control small pieces of Russian land.
The man who replaced Starovoit as Kursk governor got arrested in April for stealing money. Aleksey Smirnov allegedly took cash meant for building border defenses against Ukraine. Russian newspapers report that Starovoit was about to face charges in the same theft case. Defense committee chairman Andrei Kartapolov told reporters that Starovoit actually died much earlier than Monday. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov dodged questions about whether Putin had lost faith in Starovoit over the Kursk invasion problems.
