To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. Up Next. A pro-Russian paramilitary leader and his bodyguard have been killed in an explosion at their hotel in Moscow in what is speculated to be a direct assassination by Ukraine. Armen Sarkisyan, founder of the ArBat Battalion fighting against Ukraine’s army in Donetsk, died from a chest wound caused by a shrapnel while in hospital.

A bomb detonated just as Sarkisyan, accompanied by his security, entered the basement of the ‘Scarlet Sails’ complex on the banks of the Moskva River, just seven miles from the Kremlin, according to Russian media. At least one of Sarkisyan’s bodyguards also died and three others were injured. Footage shows the entrance filled with smoke in the immediate aftermath of the blast and extensive damage to the interior of the building.

Shattered glass and debris are seen scattered around the floor and outside of the complex. Another video circulating on Telegram shows an injured man laying on the ground. Russia’s state-run Tass news agency, citing unnamed law enforcement officials, reported that the attack was ‘ordered and carefully planned,’ but did not specify who was suspected to have been behind it. ‘The purpose of the explosion in the Scarlet Sails residential complex was an attempted murder. Who organised it is being established,’ a source told Tass.

Sarkisyan is the president of the so-called ‘DPR’ boxing federation, also known as the creator of the ‘Armenian Battalion’ (ArBat). This unit is subordinate to the Kremlin-controlled mercenary unit ‘Redut’ and took part in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. In Ukraine, he is also suspected of organising gangs – known as ‘titushky’ – that attacked people taking part in the anti-government demonstrations on the Maidan in 2014.

Sarkisyan is also rumoured to have been part of Ukraine’s ousted president Viktor Yanukovych’s inner circle. He is also believed to have had tight-knit relations with Chechen security forces. In December, based on materials from the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police, the crime boss was charged in absentia for recruiting prisoners to fight against Ukraine. Mediazona, an independent Russian outlet, reported that Armenian-born Sarkisyan had been a long-time organised crime figure in the Donetsk region city of Horlivka.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk. For more stories like this, check our news page. Arrow MORE: More than 1,000,000 people in the UK are about to get a £100 fine. Arrow MORE: Boy, 5, died when 8ft mirror fell on him while he was looking at his reflection. Arrow MORE: Spain’s Jenni Hermoso says kiss from football boss ‘stained’ World Cup win. Everything you love about your favourite free daily newspaper, now in your inbox.