Main points
- Former Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit committed suicide after being fired from his post by Vladimir Putin due to the Transport Ministry's failures that allowed Ukraine to carry out Operation Spider Web.
- The SBU's Operation Spider Web allowed Ukraine to deliver drones to Russia, which became the basis for Starovoit's dismissal and likely arrest on charges of embezzlement.
- Putin appointed Andrei Nikitin as acting transport minister, placing partial blame for Operation Spider Web on the Transport Ministry.
ISW explained the reason for Starovoit's suicide / Photo AP
On the afternoon of July 7, Russian media reported the suicide of former Russian Transport Minister Starovoit. ISW analysts suggested that the event that influenced this was the SBU operation “Web”.
Channel 24 reports this with reference to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
Why Starovoit committed suicide
Roman Starovoit committed suicide in his Tesla Model X in the village of Myakinino near Moscow, where he lived. The man's body was found on Monday, July 7, at approximately 3 p.m. local time.
Russia's transport minister and former governor of the Kursk region has committed suicide after being fired from his post by Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.
The failures of the Ministry of Transport were probably the reason, which allowed Ukraine to carry out Operation Spider's Web in June 2025. Putin fired Starovoit on July 7, the analysts emphasized.
The SBU's Operation Spider Web allowed Ukraine to deliver drones to Russia in cargo containers and strike important Russian military airfields. In turn, Putin appointed Deputy Transport Minister Andrey Nikitin as acting minister.
Nikitin noted during a meeting with the Russian dictator that the ministry monitors cargo shipments and detects drones. According to ISW analysts, this indicates that Putin partially blames the Ministry of Transport for Operation Spider Web.
In addition, the former governor of Kursk region, Alexey Smirnov, arrested in April 2025, testified against Starovoit in the case of the theft of more than one billion rubles allocated for the construction of fortifications on the border with Ukraine.
“Putin likely planned to arrest Starovoit on charges related to his work in the Kursk region in order to avoid admitting failure to protect against the Ukrainian operation,” ISW concluded.
Smirnov was arrested as part of a broader Kremlin campaign to blame regional officials for the failure of the Kursk region's defense, analysts said.
The Russian dictator does not want to admit the failure of the SBU operation and probably wanted to use the case of the defense of the Kursk region to punish Starovoit.
