Vladimir Putin’s ammunition chief has been killed in a car bombing in Moscow, according to Russian news reports.
Damir Davydov, responsible for supplying missiles and artillery ammunition to the front line at the Russian ministry of defence, was killed in an explosion in Balashikha at 5.30am local time on Tuesday, according to a report from Russian investigative outlet The Insider.
The Investigative Committee of Russia said it was opening an investigation into reports that an explosive device was detonated while a BMW X3 was driving near a residential building, a post on Telegram said.
They added that the driver sustained multiple injuries from the explosion and died at the scene, but did not confirm the identity of the victim.
Ukrainian security services have not yet claimed responsibility, although Kyiv has previously been behind several attacks on Russian generals since the start of the war.
The incident took place a short distance from where lieutenant general Yaroslav Moskalik, deputy chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, was killed in April 2025. Russian outlets reported the site was approximately 350m away from the scene of Moskalik’s death.
Here is what we know about the Russian official.
Who is Damir Davydov?
Davydov is believed to be responsible for supplying missiles and artillery ammunition to the front line for the Russian ministry of defence. He has held the rank of colonel since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
He is reported to have been directly involved in planning and organising the Russian military invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, according to a database, named the Book of Executioners, set up by Ukraine to collate evidence of war crimes.
The Russian official was reportedly from the closed city of Zarechny, whose main employer is Rosatom, a state atomic energy corporation. The area’s main industry is manufacturing nuclear weapon components.
It is believed Davydov owned several patents for rocket engines and artillery ammunition.
Prior to the war in Ukraine, he is said to have run the Central Testing Technical Bureau (military unit 63341) at the 51st Arsenal in 2009, before being appointed as head of the Missile and Ammunition Supply Directorate of the Main Artillery Directorate of the Russian Ministry of Defence in 2017.
How is he believed to have died?
Russian authorities reported that an explosive device was detonated while a BMW X3 was driving near a residential building on Koldunovo Street in the Aviatorov neighbourhood of Balashikha at 5.30am.
The explosives were hidden under the BMW and detonated remotely shortly after the driver pulled away from the car park, according to The Insider. Eyewitnesses at the scene told the Russian outlet that Davydov was still alive immediately after the explosion but died shortly before paramedics arrived.
