Russia says ousted minister died by suicide

Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt was found dead Monday in an apparent suicide, just hours after President Vladimir Putin officially dismissed him, the Investigative Committee said.

"Today, the body of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt was found in his private car with a gunshot wound in the Odintsovo district," the committee said. "The main version (considered) is suicide."

Starovoyt, 53, had served as transport minister since May 2024 and was previously governor of Russia's Kursk region, where Russian forces repelled a Ukrainian incursion.

The Kremlin earlier published a decree stating: "Roman Starovoyt was relieved of the post of Minister of Transport." Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the dismissal was "not linked to a loss of trust."

Russian media linked the firing to corruption allegations in Kursk and possible embezzlement tied to border fortifications. Starovoyt’s death followed renewed travel disruptions caused by Ukrainian drone attacks.

President Putin later named Deputy Minister Andrei Nikitin as acting transport minister.