Robert Shageyev, the former commander of the Ukrainian submarine Zaporizhzhia who switched to Russia's Black Sea Fleet in 2014, was killed on August 13. The Insider found evidence of his death in state registries: his taxpayer identification number was marked invalid on the very day of the explosion on Stoletovsky Prospekt in Sevastopol.
According to Telegram channels and bloggers cited by the outlet, Shageyev may have been the target of an assassination attempt. An improvised explosive device was planted in a trash bin near a bench and detonated as a man walked past. The FSB confirmed the death of a Russian Defense Ministry serviceman but did not officially name the victim.
Shageyev was a captain 1st rank and former officer of the Ukrainian Navy. During the annexation of Crimea, the submarine Zaporizhzhia was blocked in Streletskaya Bay in Sevastopol, after which he joined the Russian fleet. Ukraine put him on a wanted list on treason charges.
A woman has been detained in connection with the blast and a court ordered her held in pre-trial detention. Crimean blogger Alexander Talipov and Telegram channels close to law enforcement claim the suspect is 32-year-old Margarita Reutt, who was fined last year for 'discrediting the army.' Her identity has not been officially confirmed.