MOSCOW, July 8, 2025 (AFP) - Russia's former transport minister Roman Starovoyt killed himself, Moscow announced on Monday, hours after the Kremlin said President Vladimir Putin had fired him.

Starovoyt, 53, had been Russia's transport minister for a year and was previously the governor of the border Kursk region, where Russia had battled a Ukrainian incursion.

His suicide came as Russia cracks down on some military and civilian officials in the midst of the Ukraine offensive.

Authorities said Starovoyt's body was found in the Moscow suburb of Odintsovo.

"Today, the body of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoyt was found in his private car with a gunshot wound in the Odintsovo district," the Investigative Committee said in a statement.

"The main version (considered) is suicide," it added.

Russian state media said Starovoyt shot himself. It was not clear exactly when he did so.

AFP saw police and investigators at a car park, with state media saying Starovoyt committed suicide near his car in a busy area near some apartment blocks.

Hours earlier, the Kremlin published a decree signed by Putin to relieve Starovoyt of his duties.

It only said: "Roman Starovoyt was relieved of the post of Minister of Transport."

Starovoyt's firing came after another weekend of travel chaos at Russian airports following Ukrainian drone attacks.

Russian state media speculated the firing was linked to corruption in the Kursk region and a possible criminal case on the embezzlement of funds meant for fortifications in the border region.

- Possible corruption case -

In April this year, authorities had arrested Alexei Smirnov, who had replaced Starovoyt as Kursk governor last year, on suspicion of embezzling over $12 million of funds earmarked for border defences with Ukraine.

Several news outlets reported that Smirnov had testified against Starovoyt.

Russia has arrested a series of officials for corruption, accusing them of stealing money meant for defence, during the Ukraine offensive.

The Kremlin has not yet commented on Starovoyt's death.

Before it was announced, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Starovoyt's firing was "not linked to a loss of trust".

Shortly after the Kremlin announced the dismissal, Putin met with one of Starovoyt's deputies, Andrei Nikitin, to appoint him as acting transport minister.

Russia's lower house of the parliament, the Duma, is due to vote on approving the appointment on Tuesday.

Starovoyt was a native of the Kursk region and often appeared in public meetings with Putin during the Ukraine offensive.