Russian minister kills himself hours after being fired by Putin

Russia's former transport minister Roman Starovoyt killed himself Monday hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, Russian news agencies said in reports Monday.

The Investigative Committee announced that Starovoit, 53, was found dead in his car with a gunshot wound in a Moscow suburb. 

The committee stated that "the main hypothesis (for his death) is suicide" and confirmed that an investigation has been launched to determine the precise circumstances of his death, the exact date of which authorities have not yet specified.

Earlier on Monday, the Kremlin had issued a decree signed by Putin announcing "the dismissal of Roman Starovoit from his post as Minister of Transport of the Russian Federation."

The document, published on the government's website, stated that the decree was effective from the date of its signing but offered no explanation for the sudden dismissal.

Putin appointed Starovoit's former deputy, Andrei Nikitin, as the new transport minister, with the Russian presidency confirming that Putin received Nikitin in the Kremlin.

Starovoit was appointed Transport Minister in May 2024, following a tenure as governor of the Kursk region from 2019 to 2024.

His replacement comes as Russian airports have faced repeated temporary closures due to Ukrainian drone attacks, which Kyiv says are in response to Russia's large-scale invasion of its territory since 2022.

State news agency RIA Novosti quoted the new minister, Nikitin, saying Monday that he would "first deal with the situation at airports."

Russian media outlets have also suggested that Starovoit's dismissal may be linked to possible corruption during his time in the Kursk region.

Furthermore, the Transport Ministry oversees road construction and renovation in occupied Ukrainian territories, a sector often cited as susceptible to corruption.