Russia’s Vladimir Putin fires his Transport Minister amid Ukraine war

Russian President Vladimir Putin fired his Transport Minister on Monday, according to a presidential decree, removing Roman Starovoit from his post after just over a year in the job.

No reason was given for Starovoit’s unexpected dismissal. He was appointed transport minister in May 2024 after spending almost five years as Governor of Russia’s western Kursk region.

A few months after vacating that role, Ukrainian troops spilled over the border into Kursk as Kyiv launched its biggest incursion into Russian territory since the start of the war in 2022.

Starovoit’s predecessor as Transport Minister, Vitaly Savelyev, became a Deputy Prime Minister. According to the Vedomosti daily newspaper, Starovoit’s replacement could be his deputy minister Andrei Nikitin, who was formerly governor of the Novgorod Region.

Prior to serving as a regional governor, Starovoit had worked in the transport sector, leading Russia’s federal roads agency Rosavtodor for six years.

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