‘Explosive device’ was triggered when police approached a suspicious person, say officials

Two traffic police officers and a third person have been killed in a car explosion in Moscow, Russia’s investigative committee has said

The committee, which investigates major crimes, said in a statement on Wednesday “an explosive device was triggered” when the officers approached a “suspicious person” near their police vehicle on Yeletskaya Street in the south of the capital.

Reports that Stanislav Orlov was killed by Moscow security services highlights careful managing of non-state power

Beneath the frescoed ceilings and golden icons of Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, hundreds of men packed tightly into the lower hall as priests intoned prayers for the dead. Dressed in dark winter jackets, the mourners on Monday filled one of Russia’s most sacred spaces – a church usually reserved for moments of state ritual and national commemoration. Later, near his grave, the crowd lit bright flares and shouted: “One for all, and all for one.”

They had gathered to bid farewell to Stanislav Orlov, better known by his callsign “Spaniard”, the founder of the far-right Española unit – a formation of football hooligans and neo-Nazi volunteers who fought as a paramilitary force on Russia’s side in Ukraine.