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Roman V. Starovoyt, the transport minister, had governed the Kursk region before Ukrainian forces occupied part of it in 2024.
July 7, 2025Updated 3:37 p.m. ET
Russia’s transport minister was found dead from a gunshot wound, the Russian authorities said on Monday, hours after the Kremlin announced he had been relieved of his duties.
Law enforcement authorities said they were investigating the death as a possible suicide.
The minister, Roman V. Starovoyt, 53, served as governor of the Kursk region for nearly six years before being appointed to the transport post in May 2024. Three months after his promotion, Ukraine forces crossed into the region and seized a swath of territory that its military held until earlier this year.
The monthslong occupation of Kursk was the first invasion of Russian territory since World War II and a major embarrassment to President Vladimir V. Putin. It set off domestic recriminations that in recent months have gathered steam.
The Russian authorities have arrested former officials from Kursk and accused them of embezzling more than $12 million in funds that Moscow had earmarked to fortify the border with Ukraine during Mr. Starovoyt’s tenure as governor.
In April, Mr. Starovoyt’s successor and longtime deputy, Aleksei B. Smirnov, was arrested and accused of embezzlement as part of the case. Mr. Smirnov was the acting governor of Kursk at the time of the Ukrainian invasion.
The Russian state news agency, Tass, citing Russian law enforcement, reported on Monday that more people may be charged soon because one of the defendants has begun to “actively testify” against others.
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