Moscow, July 7, 2025 — Roman Starovoyt, Russia’s Transport Minister, was found dead on Monday, just hours after being dismissed by President Vladimir Putin, in what authorities have described as an apparent suicide.
Starovoyt, who had held the post since May 2024, was removed earlier in the day via a presidential decree, following a weekend of severe travel disruptions across the country. The chaos, which grounded hundreds of flights during the peak holiday season, was reportedly due to heightened drone attack threats from Ukraine.
Russian state officials confirmed the 51-year-old former minister’s death late Monday evening but provided few details. Preliminary information suggests suicide, though an official investigation is underway.
His dismissal came amid growing frustration within the Kremlin over the Ministry of Transport’s failure to anticipate or mitigate the weekend’s aviation crisis. Several airports, including those in Moscow and St. Petersburg, were forced to halt operations, affecting thousands of travelers.
Meanwhile, the broader backdrop remained tense. Russian forces launched over 100 drones into Ukrainian territory overnight, targeting civilian zones, according to Ukrainian authorities. The attacks reportedly killed at least 10 civilians and injured 38 others, including three children, within the past 24 hours.
Starovoyt, once seen as a loyal technocrat, had also previously served as governor of the Kursk region, a key area near the Ukrainian border, before joining Putin’s cabinet. His sudden dismissal and death mark a grim turn in the ongoing fallout from Russia’s war in Ukraine, where internal pressures and public discontent appear to be intensifying behind the scenes.
The Kremlin has yet to issue a formal statement on Starovoyt’s death.
