Russian ex-minister found dead after Putin dismissal — Media reports

The Russian Telegram channel 112, citing unnamed sources, reported that Starovoit allegedly shot himself in the Russian town of Odintsovo. There is no official information about this yet.

SHOT, in turn, clarified that Starovoyt "shot himself at his home in the village of Myakinino." He used an award weapon that he had received from the Ministry of Internal Affairs in 2023.

These reports are spreading following a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissing Starovoyt from his post as Minister of Transport.

Update at 04:25 p.m.

The death of Roman Starovoyt was confirmed by Svetlana Petrenko, a representative of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation.

"Today, in the Odintsovo city district, the body of former Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation Roman Vladimirovich Starovoyt was found in a personal vehicle with a gunshot wound," she said.

Update at 04:29 p.m.

According to Russian Telegram channels, Starovoyt’s body was discovered in his Tesla car around 03:00 p.m. in the Odintsovo city district.

Starovoyt is a former governor

Starovoyt served as the governor of the Kursk region until May 2024, just a few months before the start of the Kursk operation by Ukrainian forces.

His successor, Alexey Smirnov, was arrested in April of this year. The former governor is suspected of embezzling over one billion rubles, allocated for the construction of defense structures near the border with Ukraine, together with his deputy and other officials.

According to investigators, the funds were misappropriated through fictitious construction work, and the completed facilities were of poor quality and did not meet the design.

Incidentally, on July 4, the mysterious death of Andrey Badalov, vice president of the Russian company Transneft, was also reported.