From Russia with crime

A DNR Crime Boss and Founder of the Arbat Battalion Killed in Moscow Bombing

Episode Summary

In this explosive episode of From Russia with Crime, we investigate the shocking assassination of Armen Sargsyan — known in the Donbas underworld as Arman from Horlivka — who was killed in a high-profile bombing inside one of Moscow’s most elite residential complexes, "Alye Parusa." Once a commander of the Arbat special forces battalion and president of the DNR Boxing Federation, Sargsyan had a long history of alleged war crimes, organized violence, and deep ties to prison networks. As investigators search for answers, we unpack the tangled web of motives: from cigarette smuggling wars to possible Ukrainian retaliation. Was it a business feud gone deadly — or a targeted killing by foreign agents? And how could a suicide bomber bypass top-level security in a fortress-like building?

Episode Notes

In this explosive episode of From Russia with Crime, we investigate the shocking assassination of Armen Sargsyan — known in the Donbas underworld as Arman from Horlivka — who was killed in a high-profile bombing inside one of Moscow’s most elite residential complexes, "Alye Parusa." Once a commander of the Arbat special forces battalion and president of the DNR Boxing Federation, Sargsyan had a long history of alleged war crimes, organized violence, and deep ties to prison networks. As investigators search for answers, we unpack the tangled web of motives: from cigarette smuggling wars to possible Ukrainian retaliation. Was it a business feud gone deadly — or a targeted killing by foreign agents? And how could a suicide bomber bypass top-level security in a fortress-like building?